


Snakes and Ladders

by rhiannonsgypsy



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fremione - Freeform, Halice - Freeform, Jarchie - Freeform, Jolly - Freeform, Multi, barchie, beronica, bughead - Freeform, choni, falice - Freeform, fladys, fredsythe, hermionice, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-06 17:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 80,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17944331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhiannonsgypsy/pseuds/rhiannonsgypsy
Summary: With the past unsuccessfully kept at bay, Alice Cooper and FP Jones are thrown back into each other's complicated present-day lives and are forced to come face to face with feelings that may never go away and certainly haven't faded with time.This is my own version of the falice story, very similar to the real storylines as it was initially based on the season one scenes. The first few chapters depicting early lives of the characters are slightly different but hopefully believable and true to the characters! Please comment feedback!This story is dedicated to the late Luke Perry, who made not only this fandom, but the world, a better place. He was taken far too soon and my thoughts will forever go out to his family, friends, and costars. I'll miss seeing his smile in interviews, I'll miss hearing his words of wisdom on screen, we'll all miss him and his charmingly perspicacious presence. May he rest in peace.Modified from my original work "Snakes and Ladders" as seen on Wattpad.





	1. History

> _"Keep getting the feeling you want to leave this all behind. You and me got a whole lot of history, we could be the greatest thing that the world has ever seen."_

Our story, however unorthodox it may be, begins in a trailer park.

Dirty, trashy, and either far too loud or eerily quiet, with only small patches of grass here and there, Sunnyside Trailer Park stood tall and unapologetic on the wrong side of the tracks. In late July of nineteen seventy-six, the park was merely ten years old, though you'd never know it. Various doublewides were pitched here and there around the property, more numerous that one might think. It would appear that many people just couldn't quite afford a nice house up on Elm Street to raise their family.

Welcome to Riverdale, a small town sitting perfectly clichéd in the middle of nowhere. It was known as the town with pep, but its habitants are more prone to simply shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Well, you get what you get." One could say that it's the perfect place to live. You're only an hour away from everything you could ever need - the ocean, a big city or two, real life. Others say that it couldn't be a worse town to reside in, because there isn't much of a grand life to be had in Riverdale. There's basically one of everything, and it's very much so a one-size-fits-all town.

One laundromat, one grocery store, one movie theatre, one diner, one restaurant, one library, one arena, no shopping malls, and so on and so forth. There's one main road that simply branches off into little crescents and cul-de-sacs where the residents dwell, there's one railroad track, one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. One doctor's office that doubles as a dentist's office, one veterinarian clinic that's never managed to save a pet in history, one drive-in, one movie rental shop, one florist, one barbershop, one gas station, you get the picture.

And of course, there was one trailer park.

Today, on that humid, warm summer's afternoon, the cry of a baby rang through the silence of Sunnyside Trailer Park. For, born just yesterday, was a small, premature, blue-eyed baby girl who had been brought home to her clueless parents for the first time. Apparently, they'd forgotten that the fifties were behind them, so they'd named the child Alice. Alice Susanna Smith, an innocent newborn who had no idea the life that she would endure. Though she only technically spent her toddler years actually living in the trailer park before her parents moved the family into a broken down shack just a block away, the house was so delapetated that they would have been better off staying at Sunnyside. Besides, Alice had made friends among the doublewides and often spent her time on the park property even after moving out.

Which brings our story to Forsythe Pendleton Jones, Jr. Born in the earliest winter months of that same year, he too had been confined indefinitely to the same broken down gates of that trailer park. And now, we take a walk through time. Young FP Jones had known his mother until he was five years old, after which, the stress of _kindergarten_ must have gotten to her and she walked out on him and his father. There was never any hope for him, he had always been a boy perfectly content where he was, doing what he needed to do in order to survive. But, merely fifteen trailers down from his own, lived a blonde girl who he knew vaguely from school that may have been destined for better things.

Early in her childhood, Alice Smith had never held any reservations when it came to playing with the other kids around the trailer park, as there were so many of them. They'd spent countless afternoons running around the woods, riding their bikes, playing among the trees, coming up with different games. She'd even had quite the friendship with FP, though as they grew older and drifted apart, those memories faded far too quickly.

As similar as the two kids were, they held some fundamental differences between them. Their mothers had both eventually walked out on them, their fathers were both too far down the path of alcoholism to think of their children, and they had no problem taking out physical anger on them. Stories such as theirs were far from uncommon on the Southside of Riverdale. But, the two of them had been forced to grow up far too early, and thus lead them to different mindsets. Alice knew how she was seen around town, she knew that while everyone was perfectly terrified of her dark-lipped snarl and ripped denim, they also saw her as mere dirt beneath their expensive shoes. And she was set out to gain some respect, however that may be.

As for FP, he made the best of it. He knew that there was nothing he could do to change his way of life, and he did his best to help his father when he'd drank himself into a stupor. He attempted to keep the trailer liveable, he went to school and joked with his friends, chased after girls, became as popular as popular can be thanks to his charm and charisma, and then he'd modestly go home to Sunnyside and hang out with his friends. There was no shame in the life that he lived, and there was no pride either. He was a humble child who would inevitably grow into a perfectly acceptable man.

High school changed everything. Those four years were made for separation - cliques refused to cross-contaminate themselves. FP Jones, the undeniable MVP of campus, who could cast a spell on any girl with a simple wink of his eye or smirk of his lips, who wore a letterman jacket just as well as a denim jacket, whose dark hair was slicked back save for those couple front pieces that always tended to fall in front of his chocolate brown eyes, was the athlete.

He was undefeatable at anything and everything. Captain of all the sports teams, had slept with all the cheerleaders, smoked cigarettes with his greaser friends in the school bathrooms, drove an old Ford pickup truck, and caused all sorts of trouble. Somehow, he managed to remain the golden boy when it came to athletics, but also projected the dangerously attractive bad boy lifestyle that came with being brought up in a trailer park on the wrong side of town to a gang leader father.

He was different. Because, the other athletes showed off their brand new shoes and their expensive watches and bragged about how if they didn't grab a football scholarship, their parents could put them through college just fine. But, him? His dirty Converse sneakers had been bought second-hand, he'd never worn a real watch in his life, and he certainly had no intentions of going to college. His father wasn't a lawyer nor a doctor like the other guys', his father was an abusive piece of shit who ran a gang on the Southside.

Alice Smith was the bad girl. Growing up without much of a mother hadn't done her much good, and she was drowning in her own insecurity. Though, you'd never know it. Because, the way that she walked down the halls purposefully on her terrifying black heeled combat boots positively radiated confidence. She wore dark makeup and revealing tops, plaid underneath leather and fishnet underneath ripped denim. Her hair was wild and untamed, undeniably the best in school, and she always smelled of smoke and cheap cigarettes. Though she was a bit of a lone wolf, she had plenty of Southside friends, and they stuck together like glue.

She was hard to read, she was always ready and willing to fight, proud to start, confirm, and refute all sorts of rumours, and run around the Southside like she hadn't a care in the world. Mixing her hard liquor with root beer floats, getting frisky with her dates down at the drive-in, setting dumpsters on fire, picking locks and jumping fences. She lived a life of exhilaration, and she thrived off of her cheap thrills.

Enter the brand new character of Fred Andrews and you'll meet Mr. Congeniality himself. Technically, he was the artist-athlete, constantly bouncing between baseball and music, but he was one of those few people who could really be accepted by any clique out there. He was smart, he was athletic, he was funny, he was charming, he was handsome, but most importantly, he was a drummer. Though he'd spent nearly every lunch hour in the music room working on original songs and perfecting his technique, he managed to have flourishing and plentiful friendships. He was the nice guy, the guy who would never turn his back on a friend in need, who would never spend the night with a girl that he had no intention of calling the next morning, he'd never talk back to his parents, and he'd never let anyone be taken advantage of on his watch. He was perfect, he'd always been perfect.

The three kids had been in the same grade since kindergarten, but their paths had never intertwined at the same time until the summer before their junior year. Firstly, FP and Alice had developed a young friendship back in the earliest years of elementary school thanks to their proximity. Then, Fred Andrews joined the Bulldogs for a season in their freshman year and he'd grown to be friends with FP Jones. Real friends, too. As in FP listened apathetically for hours to give Fred some true feedback on his music, and Fred started hanging out at the trailer park as if he'd been doing so his whole life.

For the first year of high school, there was a sense of blissful balance among the students. They remained safely tucked away in their separate corners of the school, the nerds with the nerds, the athletes with the athletes, the cheerleaders with the cheerleaders, the musicians with the musicians, the bad girls with the bad girls, and so forth. Fred and FP were defying the odds by maintaining their strong brotherly bond, but it was likely because neither of them seemed to truly belong to their group.

Sure, FP was a douchey jock, but he was much more than just that. He was a rebel with many causes, he was a car fanatic, he constantly had Bowie on his walkman, he knew all there was to know about the outdoors, and he had the inside scoop on the Serpents - the misunderstood gang that stood behind his father.

And yes, Fred was a struggling musician, but he was also comedic, he was flirtatious, he loved to dance, he was a hopeless romantic, and he played baseball. Of course, we would be remiss to leave out Alice, because while she hid behind her heavy jewellery and cat scrap fights in bathrooms, she was a lost girl. She was sensitive, despite her thick skin. She was drowning in her own world, she didn't know where to go from there, and she felt utterly alone. She was terrified, and you'd never know it.

And now, for the latecomer. Hermione Gomez moved to Riverdale halfway through high school, and quite honestly didn't make much of an impression on her new school. She was a quietly respectful student who sat with her good girl friends and read books in her spare time. She was raised Catholic chic, and dressed to match. But, while she might have looked like the perfectly proper young girl, she possessed her own fiery thoughts and personal loyalty.

Hermione and Alice had made each other's acquaintance over the summer before their junior year, when Hermione's family had moved to Riverdale. It all started with a fight in Pop's. Hermione was sitting in Alice's booth, and though there was no way the new girl could have known that, Alice had approached her ready to fight. What the reckless young Serpent hadn't been counting on, however, was the fact that Hermione knew just how to bite back when necessary. Thus leading to a mutual respect between the two girls that blossomed throughout that summer. 

> __" _I realize that without you here, life is just a lie. This is not the end."_


	2. Go For A Soda

>   _"Might as well for a soda, nobody hurts and nobody cries. Might as well go for a soda, nobody drowns and nobody dies. So, we're in one of our blue moods, you want to have it your way and I want it mine. All this debating going round in our blue mood makes me thirsty for love."_

Fred Andrews, Alice Smith, Hermione Gomez, and FP Jones. Four people who were at one point in time inseparable. And their stories were finally about to intertwine. Fred and FP were already close friends due to the sports that had brought them together, and they were working on starting a band if they could just manage to recruit some more members. And after Alice and Hermione had made each other's acquaintance after their brief interlude in Pop's that one afternoon, they were soon to be strangely bonded.

The glory years were upon them. Sunglasses were worn at night, sad songs said  _so_ much, everyone wanted Stevie and Lindsey back together, Bowie had taught everyone about modern love, everybody was all wondering who the hell  _Eileen_ was, not a single person needed no education, and nobody would have guessed that everyone's favourite song would be Spandau Ballet's only hit ever. Before school let out for summer, the halls of Riverdale High were abuzz with gossip over seeing Harrison Ford shirtless in the new Indiana Jones movie on the big screen at the Bijou, whether or not Robert De Niro's marriage was falling apart, and if the whole aids thing was just a conspiracy theory.

The school bathrooms smelt like hairspray and cigarette smoke, the cars all made one hell of a lot of noise, clothes were either as tight as can be or baggier than something you'd take home with you from the grocery store. It was a simpler time. There were no murderous fathers, there was no hooded madman looming over the town. The sky was blue and the sun shone bright.

But, the real connection between our four main characters was never truly spawned until the last day of summer before their junior year of high school. Riverdale High is  _currently_ a small school, but back in the early nineties, there was barely three hundred students enrolled. Needless to say, everyone  _knew_ of everyone. They had all been friends at least at one point or another in their childhoods, but after elementary school, those previously mentioned cliques and tight friend groups were implemented. Alice Smith had been in and out of friendships, her snake-like qualities that were sometimes displayed often proved too much for most girls that had ever been close to her. It wasn't until that summer that she come to learn what true friendship was.

Her and Hermione Gomez had been hanging around each other for the most part of the summer, when Alice wasn't busy on the Southside and when Hermione wasn't off with her own geeky friends, of course. And that hot summer day, the one before they would begin their eleventh grade year at Riverdale High, Alice was introducing Hermione to what she humbly liked to call  _the eggshell game._ It was all  _fair,_ she only ever did it to those who thoroughly deserved her wrath. But, after Alice had pitched three raw eggs directly at Tom Keller's brand new Ford pickup in broad daylight, Hermione was shocked to say the least.

" _Alice!"_ She cried in confusion as her unruly blonde friend grabbed her hand and made a run for it. "You should have just  _talked_ to him!"

Alice scoffed, smiling widely as she ran alongside her newfound best friend. " _He_ should have  _called!"_

Over the weekend, Alice and Tom had been on their very first day and, even though it didn't go very well, he had  _promised_ he would call - it was only the gentlemanly thing to do. Well, it had been three days, and Alice hadn't heard a  _word_ from her supposed friend.  _But,_ she did hear from Mary Maiden who heard from Penelope Blossom that Tom Keller had just been out at the Bijou with  _Sierra Samuels_ just last night. And a stunt like that deserved a few eggshells.

"I thought you said he wasn't even your type!" Hermione insisted as Alice suddenly broke to the left and continued dragging her behind, far faster in her dirty old Converse sneakers than her heeled friend.

"He's  _not!"_ Alice laughed, she didn't know whose backyard they were cutting through, but she also didn't particularly care. "He  _still_ should have called!" She wasn't truly angry over Tom's typical behaviour,  _she_ certainly wouldn't have called if she were him, but took advantage of any excuse to have a little fun and cause some trouble while doing so. Besides, it was such a beautiful summer day, how could she possibly pass up the opportunity to spend some time on the run under the sun?

"Are we going to get in trouble?" Hermione was slowly getting used to Alice's troublemaker antics as well as being dragged into her so-called  _fun,_ but she still had no interest in facing the repercussions that Alice wasn't ever bothered by.

" _Hopefully!"_ Alice teased, knowing just how nervous of the law Hermione was. Alice Smith was born and raised on the Southside and had resented it her entire life. She didn't hate that it likely contributed to her free spirit attitude, she was fine with  _who_ she was. She just didn't like the fact that Riverdale didn't offer kids like her the same opportunities because of where she came from. She didn't like the reputation that was forced upon her, she didn't like being treated like scum on the bottom of the Northsiders' shoes.

Her mother wasn't around anymore and she couldn't stand being at home with just her father and his boozy abusive hands, so she spent as little time at home as possible. She was on the run, really. In search of a safehaven, somewhere to call home, some place that she could feel truly and utterly  _safe_ \- something she'd never experienced before. But, in the meantime, she and Hermione were  _literally_ on the run from whoever may have watched her vandalize Tom's truck.

"Oh,  _no."_ Hermione stopped in her tracks and crossed her thin arms when they came across a small chain-link fence that divided two backyards. "No  _way_ am I climbing that  _fence,_ Alice Smith! These are  _Louboutin's!"_ She whined, gesturing to the expensive shoes on her feet. 

Alice rolled her eyes with a sly laugh, " _Come on,_ Hermione. Loosen up for once in your life!" She raised an eyebrow and lifted herself up over the fence with ease. "If you want to stay here and get  _caught,_ be my guest, but excuse me if I don't  _join_ you!"

Hermione huffed but gritted her teeth and followed in Alice's mischievous, having more than a little trouble getting herself over the fence though it was only about five feet high.

"What in the  _name_ of -" Alice and Hermione whipped around to face whoever had been watching them from the back porch of their yard. They had been so concerned about making it away from Tom's house that they hadn't even thought to worry about who may have been outside enjoying the sunshine in their  _private_ backyard. "Who are  _you_ and just  _what_ do you think you're doing trespassing on my property, exactly?"

Artie Andrews had always been a rather gruff man, it was only his nature. He was never cruel, and he wasn't exactly  _mean._ He simply wasn't the type of person who would sleep well at night knowing that teenage girls were climbing his private fence and getting away with running all over his freshly cut lawn.

The two girls were at a loss for words, and it was very lucky that fate chose that moment to have Fred Andrews and FP Jones enter the backyard to see what Artie was yelling about. " _Alice?"_ The two boys said at the same time, confusion clearly evident in their voices.

"You know these troublemakers?" Artie demanded, turning towards his son and FP but not quite expecting an answer as his question had been more rhetorical than anything. "We can't just have you kids running through neighbourhoods away from  _God knows_ what. I've half a mind to call your parents!"

While Fred's gaze was now captivated by the bespectacled brunette girl that he'd never seen before, FP had been looking at Alice, and he watched her eyes widen in genuine fear following Artie's threat. The Southside didn't have the same kind of rumour mill as the Northside's gossip circles, but when you lived on the wrong side of the tracks, you knew a lot about the others who resided there. FP knew that Alice's father wouldn't take kindly to receiving a complaint call from a short-tempered Northsider, and she would likely be forced to face the same ruthless repercussions as he would were it his own abusive father.

With this in mind, the taller teenage boy ran a hand through his rather long hair and stepped in. "Don't worry, Mr. A. They're friends of ours." Artie raised a scrutinizing eyebrow but waited silently for the explanation. "We invited them over, I don't know  _why_ they were  _stupid_ enough to try to come in through the backyard." He sent Alice a pointed look, telling her that she would have to be more careful when it came to the kinds of  _fun_ that she liked to have.

Artie looked to Fred, who nodded his confirmation. Whatever reason FP had for lying to his father, Fred was sure that it was legitimate and harmless. Besides, it was true, they  _were_ friends of Alice's... kind of. Artie mumbled a bit but went back inside without giving anyone any more trouble. FP and Alice didn't exactly associate with each other, but they shared common ground, and that gave them a connection that they couldn't exactly ignore. FP stepped down from the porch and made his way towards her, leaving Fred to approach the new girl that had him in such a trance of enchantment.

"You really shouldn't be pushing your luck in neighbourhoods like this one, Alice." He said truthfully, though there was amusement on his face. "There's not much leniency around here for kids like us."

"Kids like  _us?"_ Alice countered, clearly unwilling to be degraded to the likes of  _him._

FP sensed this, and wasn't about to allow her to pretend she was better than him. "Come on, you know what they say." He lowered his voice as if to insure no one else heard him. "You can take the girl out of the trailer park, but you can't - " Before he could finish, Alice hit him on the chest lightly.

"At least I  _am_ out of the trailer park." Alice rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, she'd always been strangely haughty for someone who came from such a low background. " _Thank you_ for having my back, FP..." she began sarcastically, "... but,  _you_ can't tell me what to do." They both raised their eyebrows slightly as their playful teasing began. "Besides,  _you_ can't possibly be one to talk."

He gave her a look of mock disbelief, it was refreshing to have a conversation with someone who actually challenged him - most people were far too intimidated. "And  _what_ exactly is  _that_ supposed to mean?" His voice was just as teasing as hers continuously was in his presence.

" _Please,"_ she eyed him daringly, "I know the stories."

Alice turned back to Hermione, but FP couldn't help but continue to gaze at her with a grin on his face and a glint in his amused eyes.

"I see that Alice has already tried to corrupt you with her tricks." Fred was in the middle of having his own flirtatious conversation with Hermione, and the two of them were so blatantly  _drooling_ over each other that Alice rolled her blue eyes in mock disgust.

"Hermione Gomez," she gestured to the beautiful girl with the tan skin as she formally introduced her to the boys, "Fred Andrews and  _Forsythe_ _Pendleton Jones Jr."_ Hermione smiled warmly at her new acquaintances but couldn't keep her eyes off of Fred Andrews' boyishly charming grin until she registered what Alice had labelled the other boy and confusion overtook her.

FP rolled his eyes following Alice's teasing use of his full name but couldn't fight off a grin as he shook his head and reached out a hand for Hermione to shake, "FP." He stated, making it clear that Alice might have been the only one around town who called him  _Forsythe._

"Hey," Fred began almost nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, "how would you feel about grabbing some root beer floats at Pop's?"

Alice and FP shared a perceiving glance as they watched the scene unfold, and Hermione immediately gave Fred an excited smile. "That would be great!"

Fred was pleased that she'd agreed, but he wasn't surprised. He certainly had a way with the ladies. "Alright, them." He chuckled and offered his arm like a true gentleman which she took enthusiastically and without hesitation. "We can walk, it's only a few blocks away."

As the two of them began in the direction of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Alice and FP remained standing, arms crossed and confused. "Does that include us, or...?" Alice asked incredulously, irritated at the two lovebirds' complete ignorance of her and FP.

From a few yards away, Hermione turned her head back as she walked. "Are you two coming?"

Alice and FP looked at each other again, still processing what had happened as their two best friends were now off together. Alice sighed, and FP only gestured for her to lead the way.

And that was how Fred Andrews, Alice Smith, Hermione Gomez, and FP Jones found themselves together in a booth at Pop's for the first time. That was how it all began. The rest was history, really. It became their place, their sanctuary. That's not to say that their intricate relationships were not  _complex._ To lay it all out, Fred and FP were best friends, Alice and Hermione were best friends, but Fred and Hermione were dating and Alice and FP were, well...  _complicated._

And somewhere along the lines, FP Jones and Alice Smith fell in love. It wasn't a convenient love, it sure as hell wasn't an  _easy_ love, but it was a real love. It was passionate, it was  _wild,_ and it was true. It didn't happen in the same way as their friends, Fred and Hermione knew that they were bound to have a story together the moment that they both clapped eyes on each other. It all began that lovely summer's day spent at Pop's, the rest of it was all up to fate. When Fred Andrews and Hermione Gomez sat down in that booth and looked into each other's eyes, they knew - there would be no controlling it.

FP and Alice had always known each other, they grew up in the same place, they knew the struggles of Southside families, and they both knew what it was like to attempt to defy the stereotypes that were cast upon them. It didn't happen quickly, it was  _not_ love at first sight. They were just two  _acquaintances_ who happened to have mutual friends and who both  _acknowledged_ the fact that the other was intensely attractive. That should have been the warning sign.

But, through their bickering and relentless contradictions of each other, somewhere along the line, they had managed to fall in love. Of course, that intricate story will be elaborated on later, but for now I'll just say that it took them a while to realize their affections for each other, but once they did, there was positively no stopping them. They ran to each other in times of peril, they shared secrets never revealed before, they finally understood the meaning of  _safety._ They both came from broken, ugly families, they knew that they needed some kind of escape. That's what the Serpents were for them, an escape.

FP was the first to join them. Alice had been wary, knowing that joining a gang would only make it more impossible for her to ever overcome the obstacles standing in her way of a pure, desirable life. But, she trusted him. If it was something that he had to do, then she would support that. They clung to each other, she wasn't going to turn her back on him now.

But, the repercussions of FP's involvement with the Serpents took separate tolls on them. FP's name was rather demonized, he remained the captain of the football team, an object of fancy for the girls, and nothing more than an alluring, dangerous, bad boy. And  _everyone_ loves a bad boy. Frankly, the students of Riverdale High were too intimated by him to ever dare question his character even after joining the Serpents.

For Alice, it was different. The day after the news broke, someone had boldly written "Serpent Slut" on her locker in a permanent marker. The janitors hadn't even bothered to paint over it for a few  _weeks_ following the incident. But, this only fuelled Alice's fire. She was not  _ashamed_ of who FP was nor his or her affiliations with the Serpents. They were not demonic, they were not anything to be repelled by, they were  _safe._ They took care of their own. And that was certainly what she needed at the time. She'd never been one to give in and cower whenever she was targeted, so Alice wore that label proudly and defiantly after taking Penelope Blossom and her black Sharpie to the ground in the middle of the busy hallway.

She did not cry over the nickname, she did not  _run,_ she smirked and went about her day, wiping a bit of Penelope's nose blood from her knuckles. And, the next day, she had joined the Serpents. It wasn't just about proving anyone wrong, in fact, she kept her membership a secret from the prying eyes of Riverdale High students save for Hermione, Fred, and of course, FP. She'd done it to be with him, but she'd done it for  _herself._ The Serpents were a completely different world. And, if that was his world now, she wanted to be a part of it. Besides, she needed a family more than she needed respectability at the moment. Her and FP were in this together, that was what they always told each other.

Separately, they were troublemakers. Together, they were detrimental to Riverdale's prestigious name. They stayed out too late, ran with people who could give them the cheap thrills that they desired, spent endless nights in the back of FP's truck at the Twilight Drive-In, they got frisky underneath the bleachers at school, he snuck in through Alice's bedroom window using an old creaky ladder, they mixed their root beer floats with alcohol at Pop's, and they had their fair share of run-ins with the cops around town. While Alice had only ever had to spend one measly night in the slammer, FP had done his fair share of time here and there.

And so began Alice Smith and FP Jones' ride or die romance that rocked the fair town of Riverdale. They were  _wild,_ they were the couple that everyone wanted to emulate. But, things got hard very quickly. When FP's father finally threw him out of the house for good, it became obvious that working down at Pop's diner would no longer cut it so long as he needed to provide for himself. But, on Serpent territory, odd jobs were always available.

He began doing dangerous work,  _illegal_ work, and he wanted Alice as far away from it all as possible. He knew that they'd always worked better together rather than apart, but if this was going to be his life now, he couldn't have anything standing in his way. He couldn't risk  _hurt._ And, if she was hurt, he was hurt. Besides, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she realized that she could have so much more than him, that would be the day that she left him behind and never looked back. Even at seventeen, after they'd only been dating for about a year, FP knew that Alice was the love of his life, without a doubt.

It was mutual. Every time that they promised a grand and loving future to each other, Alice felt happier than she ever thought she could. Before everything began to fall apart, Alice couldn't have cared less what any Northsider thought of her. She no longer pined for the polished life that came with living on the other side of the tracks. As long as she was safe, and she was in love, none of it mattered.  _That_ was her dream. Not wealth, not respectability, not a big Stepford house on a Northside hill and a polished family.  _He_ was her dream.

But, FP didn't handle situations in the way that she would have wanted him to. She wanted him to come to her when he was in trouble, she wanted to get through things together, they were a  _team._ After all, she'd joined the Serpents to be with him, she  _should_ have been part of his world. Instead, FP pushed her away. He ran. She tried to involve herself in his troubles with the intentions of helping him, but he wouldn't stand for it. So, he pushed, and when this only made her try more ruthlessly, he pushed harder.

As long as he was pushing her away and running from her, Alice was no longer happy. She was no longer satisfied with her life. And so contributed to the subsequent moments of weakness where she runs to whomever will have her, though she realizes that no matter what she does, she'll never be able to escape the Southside. She turned her back on the gang, betraying them in so many ways, which made it personal for FP. She  _knew_ that FP was the only one for her with respect to  _love,_ she knew that from the bottom of her heart. But, if he didn't want her as intensely as she needed him - which is how he had recently begun to act - she could only try so hard. After all, there were  _others_ who would have her. Others who couldn't provide her with the passion that she needed, but who could give her the imperious life that she thought she wanted and at the very least take her mind off of the pain that she felt.

Alice and FP's breakup had been all anyone at Riverdale High could talk about. Rumours as to how exactly it had all gone down spiralled through the halls. Everyone was watching them to see how they would react if they ran into each other in the gymnasium or the cafeteria. The school  _thrived_ off of the drama that was Alice and FP's disastrous falling out.

It happened through an enormous fight that they had never managed to come back from, that was the basis of it. They hadn't been doing well for months after FP had begun making illegal deliveries and getting himself into dangerous situations. Alice wanted nothing more than to be there for him, and he just  _wouldn't_ let her. To make things easier, he convinced himself that it would just be better if they weren't even together, and thus provoked his cold attitude towards the woman that he loved, shoving her straight into the arms of Harold Cooper.

The foundation of their argument was simple. FP had never  _asked_ her to join the Serpents for him, he'd never  _asked_ her to get involved with his way of life, it was dangerous and they both knew that. But, Alice was no fragile blushing flower. She'd been familiar with the gang forever, and she'd certainly lived a rough life on the Southside long before she'd started dating FP Jones. Besides, she was sick and tired of him pushing her away. If they were going to be in this together, then she needed to be able to help him through rough waters just as he did for her.

Their breakup was not established due to the true belief on either end that it was when either of them truly wanted, it was all heat of the moment words that they couldn't take back, it was what happened when two teenage kids were placed in impossible situations that forced them to make adult decisions.

It wasn't because they stopped  _loving_ each other. In fact, just the opposite. They loved each other a little  _too_ much. So much that it was dangerous. The kind of danger that they couldn't afford so long as FP was practically a homeless drug runner and Alice desperately needed an escape from the horrendous home life that she had. The logistics of it all simply never seemed to work out in their favour. So, Alice left him - his biggest fear - and FP's promises were all proven empty -  _her_ biggest fear.

Staying with the Serpents became impossible for Alice. She was a part of that world because it was  _his_ home. And  _he_ was  _her_ home. Going back to the Whyte Wyrm or any of their other territories only caused her pain. So, she did what FP was so good at doing. She ran. To the Northside, to be exact. She continued to to pretend that she'd never been involved with the Serpents and she carefully selected a proper Northside boy that could do what FP never could and give her a life of materialistic luxury.

The Serpents would have been nothing more than disappointed by her leaving of them, but when it became no secret that Alice was parading around Riverdale practically  _spitting_ on their name, they held back nothing when deeming her a traitor. Hal Cooper was perfect. He  _hated_ the Southside, he knew that Alice  _needed_ him in order to get anywhere successful, and he thrived off of that. Everyone at school thought Alice was  _majestic._ She was beautiful, she was powerful, and she was popular. But, Hal knew her secret - she would never get anywhere prestigious without him. And he had always loved power.

It wasn't even a month after FP and Alice called it quits that he found himself with a Serpent member named Gladys and had enlisted in the army. He needed to get out of Riverdale, there were too many ghosts lurking around the quiet corners of the town. Meanwhile, Alice was with Hal - the prince of the Northside. Of course, had Alice known that she was pregnant, it would have changed everything. She would never have left FP, she never would have left the Serpents, she never would have decided to pretend to be something that she wasn't. But, by then, it was too late.

A theme among residents of Riverdale had proven to be marrying the wrong people.

Fred and Hermione were undeniably in love. Hermione chose Hiram Lodge - the popular son of a rich corrupt businessman. Fred settled for Mary Andrews. Alice and FP had never stopped loving each other - they didn't know if they could. Alice chose Hal. FP chose Gladys.

And now, it seemed that their children were unknowingly out to fix the mistakes that they'd made twenty-five years ago.

> _"Life seems to be a bomb inside of your head, well the bomb in my head is love. Might as well go for a soda nobody it's better than slander, it's better than lies. Might as well go for a soda, nobody hurts and nobody cries. Might as well go for a soda."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Go For A Soda" by Kim Mitchell.


	3. Only The Good Die Young

> _"Come out Virginia, don't let me wait, you Catholic girls start much too late. But, sooner or later, it comes down to fate. I might as well be the one."_

"Hermione Apollonia Gomez," Mrs. Sofía Gomez crossed her arms as she spoke, "are you wearing lipstick?" Hermione's mother was a good woman - she worked hard, wanted the best for her children, and was trying to keep her marriage from crumbling to pieces.

 

But, there were certain things that she simply wouldn't stand for. One of those things being suffering from any kind of exceptionalism or trying to cheat one's way to the top, but she'd never had a problem with that when it came to Hermione, her youngest child and only daughter among three boys. The second deadly sin in Sofía's rather one-sided mind was straying from the solid path of biblical correctness. Her father was a Catholic priest, and she was now in the midst of raising her children to abide by God's words.

 

Of course, she herself was merely a humble housemaid working down at Riverdale's only motel. If she couldn't grant her family the wealthy respectability that they deserved, she could at least cultivate them in the eyes of the church. Hermione herself had never taken any of those preaching words too seriously - she was a teenage girl, she had other things on her mind. Yet, she wanted to make her mother proud, so she still wore her hair in a clean-cut manner, she wore her traditional catholic schoolgirl's wear with high socks and black Mary-Janes, she still perched those heavy glass frames on her nose to cover up the true beauty of her pretty face. Frankly, her mother didn't give her a choice.

 

But, when all other feelings have been bottled up for so long, rebellion can't help but preside over young minds. It was the summer before junior year, the sun was hot, the days were endless, and the kids were all jacked up on teenage hormones, stolen beer, and cheap pot. Not even Hermione Gomez could turn down the temptations of a wet, hot, teenage, Riverdale summer. Especially not after Fred Andrews, Alice Smith, and FP Jones came into her life.

 

It had only been two and a half weeks of running around with them, but Hermione felt more like herself than she ever had before. FP taught her to defend herself, Alice taught her to be herself, and Fred taught her to love herself. For within that boy's young heart and behind his honey brown eyes was more love for Hermione than she'd ever seen from anyone. And that was what sold her. Ever since that very first afternoon at Pop's where he'd dared to put his arm around her while FP and Alice squabbled from across the table. Hermione had never even kissed a boy, and already Fred Andrews was making her feel things she wasn't sure she even could.

 

And after those ten days spent driving around in his pickup truck, sharing milkshakes at Pop's, catching double features down at the drive-in, Hermione knew without a doubt in her young mind that she had already fallen head over heels in love with Fred. And it wasn't because of him that she had asked to borrow a tube of Alice's lipstick, it was because she wanted to. She knew who she was now, and that girl was no longer afraid to put on a little makeup before going out on a date with the boy that she intended to spend the rest of her years with. Not even her mother's scriptures and rosaries could prevent that.

 

But, Sofía had noticed that Hermione's vocabulary had become rather expanded over the past week, she'd noticed the blackness around her eyelashes and the red on her lips, and she'd noticed that the top buttons of her conservative blouses were never done up anymore, she saw it all. She couldn't help but feel as though her daughter was morphing into a woman, and that there was nothing wrong with her newfound confidence, but it wasn't very becoming in the eyes of the church. Sofía couldn't have the esteemed members of the congregation wondering how she'd managed to raise a slutty daughter who chased after boys, broke curfew, acted upon her fiery temper, and was seen hanging around with trailer trash like FP Jones and Alice Smith, of all people.

> _"Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray, they built you a temple and locked you away. But, they never told you the price that you pay for things that you might have done. Only the good die young."_

Hermione nodded her head casually as she continued to brush her long hair while staring at her reflection in her second-hand vanity mirror. She knew that her mother was strict when it came to things like images and passing for a respectable family even if they were constantly struggling to make ends meet. "Alice lent me it, she said it'll pair well with my complexion." Hermione spoke calmly, knowing that her mother was likely about to forbid she wear any kind of design that that Southside trash of a friend suggested.

 

"I told you I didn't like you hanging around that girl." Sofía kept her eyes down as she sharply folded up a cardigan that had been unceremoniously tossed onto the foot of her daughter's bed and laid it on a nearby chair.

 

Finally, Hermione sighed and set down her hairbrush, turning around on her stool to face her disapproving mother. "She's actually super nice, Mom." She insisted, but her mother remained unconvinced. "She's a little rough around the edges, but she's got a really big heart."

 

"You heard what Pastor Roberto was telling Mrs. Mantle about her after last Sunday's service, Hermione." Sofía trusted the words of her pastor and her cherished friend, and it rubbed her the wrong way to know that her own daughter was off causing trouble with that rebellious Smith girl. "He said that her mother recently ran off with some greaser from Greendale and that her father spends every one of his nights drinking away his troubles down at that slimy bar on the Southside."

 

Hermione clenched her fists, for someone so middle-class, her mother could certainly be all too pious. "So what, Mom?" She straightened her back in defense, "No one's family is perfect, it doesn't mean that she's not a good friend."

 

Sofía rolled her eyes, she truly only wanted what was best for her daughter, but she was going about it all wrong. "Just look at you, Hermione." She gestured to the colour on her daughter's lips and the liner on her eyelids. "She's already got you painting up your face in such an ungodly way. And, for the love of god, do up your shirt properly!"

 

"Alice didn't tell me to wear lipstick, Mom!" She argued, "It was me! I wanted to start wearing it, she just lent me hers, like a good friend does!"

 

Her mother huffed and re-crossed her arms, "Why do you even insist on wearing such sinful makeup, anyways, Hermione? You have bible study tonight and no one at the church will think very highly of you showing up looking like a tramp."

 

"It's just a little lipstick, Mom!" Hermione stood now and straightened her skirt, determined to prevent her mother's negativity from getting to her. "And for your information, I'm not going to bible study tonight, I haven't gone in months." That was true, she'd stopped spending all her time at the church a while ago, even before she'd met her newfound allies. She simply didn't feel welcomed by the community that was the Catholic church. Sure, she'd attend services with her parents and brothers, but she had no interest in becoming a doting preacher's wife.

 

Sofía gaped, "And just where is it that you think you're going?"

 

Throwing her purse strap over her shoulder, Hermione kept her head up high. "I have a date."

 

Now, her mother's eyes softened. Perhaps, it wasn't all bad, maybe she was being too hard on her. "Well," she began uncertainly, "with who, honey? That nice Mantle boy? Marty, I think his name is?"

 

Hermione rolled her eyes, Marty had been pursuing her for months now, but there was just something that she didn't like about that guy. Yes, he came from a respectable catholic family, and that was what she knew her mother liked about him, but he seemed far too egotistical to hold a conversation with. "No, not Marty." Hermione spoke under her breath, rather disgusted at the thought. "It's with Fred." She talked about Fred quite a bit at home, she'd never told either of her parents that they were dating, but they could at least piece together the fact that Hermione was crazy about him.

 

"Fred?" Sofía's mouth dropped open in disapproval. "Oh, no. Hermione, absolutely not."

 

She'd been expecting this, "Why not, Mom?" She shook her head, suddenly feeling rather helpless, "What could possibly be so bad about him?"

 

"Well," Sofía snapped, as if it should have all been obvious, "first and foremost, I haven't once seen him or his family attending a single service at any church in this God forsaken town."

 

"I don't care that he's not religious, Mom." She shook her head, "It might be a problem to you, but you're not dating him, I am." She moved to walk past her mother out the door, but Sofía stopped her before she could get far.

 

"All that boy will ever be able to give you is a reputation, Hermione." She knew that Fred wasn't a bad boy, she knew that he came from a decent family and he was certainly no FP Jones. But still, Sofía wanted more for her only daughter. She wanted at the very least a member of the clergy, if not a pastor himself.

 

Now, Hermione felt the uncontrollable need to stick up for Fred. What her mother was saying about him was not true, and it was not fair. She acted as though he was the antichrist simply because he'd never set foot in a chapel. "Fred is a good person! I don't care if he's no Saint Peter, he earns his respect in other ways! He works hard, he's smart, he's funny, he cares for me, he protects me, and I..." she stopped short, feeling an unfamiliar emotion clouding her judgement, "... I think, I think he might even love me."

 

"Oh," Sofía snapped, "what would you know about -" Before she could continue, her daughter cut her off.

 

"If he gives me a reputation, it'll be a good one! Everyone adores Fred, they see his stand-up character, I'll be nothing but respected. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Mom?" She was shouting now, but she didn't particularly care. "He can give me passion, safety, satisfaction, he can give me love, isn't that all that matters?"

 

With that, Hermione attempted yet again to leave the room, but this time is was Sofía that was took quick for her. She shut the door and, from out in the hallway, whipped out a key and locked it from the outside before she could even think to tackle this sensitive situation any differently. "Mom, what are you doing?" Hermione argued from inside her small room, wondering if her mother had gone completely mad.

 

"Your father and I didn't raise you to speak to me in such blatantly disobedient ways, Hermione!" Sofía shouted through the door, "You'll come out when you're ready to remember your basic manners."

 

"Mom," Hermione pleaded, "I'm going to be late!"

 

"I don't care, Hermione!" She shouted back, "You're not to see that boy any longer! You know better than to court someone that your parents disapprove of!"

 

"Court?" Hermione spat back, but her mother was already taking off down the stairs and could no longer hear her daughter's spiteful words. "What is this, the nineteen thirties?"

 

When it became clear to her that the lock on her door would not budge, she threw herself onto her bed in frustration, wondering just what else might go wrong that evening.

> _"You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd, we ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud. We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one."_

She'd planned to meet Fred down on the corner at the end of her street where he'd pick her up in his truck. That was how they always met up, so that her parents wouldn't see him coming by to get her. He'd initially assumed that perhaps she was just running late, but soon grew worried when fifteen minutes had passed and Hermione hadn't shown up to meet him. He wondered if something was wrong, and sat in his truck struggling with an internal battle for another few minutes. Did he do what she would have wanted him to and stay put or maybe even just go home and give her a call, or did he march right up to her front door. Did he say screw what her parents might think and go see just what was wrong?

 

He knew what he should have done, but he'd always been guided by his heart. So, he took off down the street and the next thing he knew, he was standing on the Gomez's porch, knocking on the door. The truth of the matter was, he was concerned for his girlfriend, and he didn't think he'd be able to just drive back to his place and wait patiently on her call to assure her safety. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something had happened to her and he simply let it slide because she didn't want her parents to know about their relationship.

 

"Fred Andrews, I presume?" Sofía scowled when she opened the door to see the tall young man wearing dirty white sneakers standing before her looking somewhat concerned. She figured that it was only a matter of time before the boy himself showed up at her door.

 

Fred swallowed, suddenly feeling rather self conscious. This was certainly not how he'd hoped his first meeting with Hermione's devout mother would unfold. "Yeah," he stuttered, "um, yes Ma'am." He held out a hand as he awkwardly introduced himself but Sofía turned up her nose and refused him her hand. "I was just wondering, well I just wanted to know that, uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly finding it hard to meet the small woman's harsh eyes, "...that Hermione was okay. We were supposed to meet a while ago and she never showed."

 

"Hm." Sofía crossed her arms, "Hermione will not be meeting you, today."

 

"She... she won't?" The woman shook her head in response to the young boy's inquiry. "Did she say why?"

 

"Oh, no, you misunderstand." Sofía slowly moved backwards, clearly attempting to shut the door on Fred, "I'm saying why." The door was nearly closed now, and Fred stood agape on the porch. "You're not to be seeing my daughter anymore, Fred Andrews."

 

With that, she slammed the door on his face.

> _"So, come on, Virginia, show me a sign. Send up a signal and I'll throw you the line. The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind never lets in the sun. Darling, only the good die young."_

Fred stood out on the sidewalk, kicking around a rock for a solid five minutes. He didn't know what he was waiting for, but he didn't feel right going home. Maybe he was waiting for Hermione to break free from her strict parents' clutches and come running to his arms, maybe he was waiting for Mrs. Gomez to open the door again and apologize for her behaviour, maybe he was waiting to build up the courage to knock again and give someone a piece of his young mind.

 

He knew that he shouldn't have lingered, someone could have called the cops and had him reprimanded for loitering, but he didn't care. The hours that he spent with Hermione, even if they were kept secret from her family, they were cherished. Things weren't always great at home for him, his parents had been fighting a lot recently and he couldn't help but feel as though there was something that they were keeping from him. And, of course, he could always go hang out with FP and have a good time, but more often than not, he was off with Alice, even if the two of them claimed that they didn't really get along. The two of them always had more in common than FP and Fred did, and they lived close to each other, it made sense.

 

But, even when the three of them would all hang out, it just didn't feel right without Hermione. She was a vital piece of their puzzle, and it was the little things like her smile and the sound of her laughter that brightened even the darkest of Fred's days. He craved her presence, he didn't care what they did. She'd never expected much, unlike some other girls he'd been with. She didn't care if he couldn't afford to take her to the Bijou or if neither of them could come up with anything interesting to do for the night, they were both perfectly content wrapping themselves in a blanket and sitting on the end of the dock down at the beach, talking the night away.

 

Fred knew that her parents would try to keep them apart, which is why they'd attempted to keep their young relationship a secret. And perhaps if he'd had any sense at all, he'd do as Sofía had said and stayed away from Hermione, but his passion won out over his mind yet again. He refused to let the girl that he loved slip right through his fingers all because of her parents' haughty degradation of him. With that in mind, he gritted his teeth, gathered up a handful of pebbles, and made his way to the backyard.

> _"You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation. You got a brand new soul and a cross of gold. But Virginia, they didn't give you quite enough information. You didn't count on me when you were counting on your rosary."_

Hermione was still sitting dejectedly on her bed, coming down from the rage that she'd been in thanks to her mother locking her away for the night. At first, she thought maybe it had begun to rain when she heard something hit against her window pane. But, when she heard another persistent tap, she wiped away a miserable tear and moved across her room to pull the window open. When she saw the boy responsible for throwing pebbles up at her window, her previously sullen face broke into an uncontrollable smile.

 

"Freddy!" She called down to him, she should have known that he would have come investigating when she failed to show up to their street corner.

 

"Hey, baby, you miss me?" He joked with a wide grin, just seeing her face made him feel inexplicably better.

 

Hermione giggled from out the window, resting her chin on her hands as she began to frown, "I'm on house arrest." She pouted, frustrated that she'd have to miss date night.

 

"Too bad." Fred began, but trailed off, leaving a mischievous air between them. He gave her a look and raised an eyebrow, clearly alluding to something that Hermione would have to pry out of him.

 

"What are you thinking?" She teased, knowing him all too well.

 

"Well..." he began, shrugging his shoulders boyishly as he looked up at her, "now, hear me out..."

 

"I already don't like the sounds of this, Fred."

 

"It's not that far of a jump."

 

Now, Hermione began to laugh, thinking that he was joking. Fred moved closer to the edge of the window, he, on the other hand, was all too serious. There was a piece of roofing beneath her window, if she could just climb out onto that and then drop herself down, it really should have been easy.

 

"I'm serious, Hermione." He laughed, watching the girl's expression go from surprised to doubtful to pensive to determined. "Just get yourself out onto that little piece of roof there and I'll catch you!" He shouted up to her, and she looked back towards the door that her mother had locked. A glint appeared in her brown eyes, if her mother wanted rebellious, she could give her rebellious. Sofía Gomez would begin to wish that all Hermione had done was put on a touch of lipstick.

 

"You'll catch me?"

 

"I promise." Fred held out his arms to prove to her that he'd be catching her, and Hermione grinned and pulled herself out the window.

 

As she edged herself closer and closer to the end of the roof, she grew regretful. "Freddy, are you sure you can catch me?"

 

Fred gave her a reassuring grin, "Have I ever let you down, darlin'?"

 

Hermione thought about this, he truly never had. Which is why she cautiously lowered herself off the roof with a squeal and the next thing she knew, she found herself in her boyfriend's strong arms. Setting her on her feet again, Fred grabbed her hand and they both took off running out onto the street, teeming with laughter and adrenaline, hopping in his truck, and took off towards Pop's. The pair chattered excitedly along the way, but fell silent when Fred cut the engine once they found themselves a parking spot.

 

"Hermione?" He asked, catching her attention as a certain tension lingered in the air between them. Hermione turned to face him and saw that his face seemed rather nervous. "Your mom really doesn't want us to be together."

 

Hermione looked away and lowered her voice, her heart sinking. "I know." She whispered, praying that he wasn't about to call it off. Though, she would understand. Sneaking around was hard work, and he would likely begin to feel rather dejected if her parents continuously spread their public hatred for him around to whoever would listen.

 

"I hope you know that..." he looked her in the eyes, "... that it doesn't change anything for me."

 

The young woman's eyes lit up with delighted surprise, "It doesn't?"

 

Fred smiled, "Of course not." He shook his head, "I mean, I don't want you to feel pressured to be with me against your parents wishes..." he assured, the last thing that he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.

 

"No, don't even think that, Fred!" Hermione took her cheek in her hand, "I want to be with you. I don't care what anyone thinks, this isn't about them!"

 

Now grinning once more, Fred laced her fingers in his, "Well then, Hermione Gomez, there is nothing in this world that will keep me from you."

 

Hermione felt her heart beating faster and faster, but in the best possible way. And the butterflies in her stomach turned to fireworks when she leaned over to him and kissed him with all the passion inside of her.

> _"They say there's a heaven for those who will wait, some say it's better, but I say it ain't. I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun. I tell you, only the good die young."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Only The Good Die Young" by Billy Joel.


	4. First Loves

> _"I want to learn how to love, not just feel the feeling. I want to mend this heart before I quit believing."_

The story of FP Jones and Alice Smith goes far beyond the surface fact that they dated and broke up in their youth. That was only the bottom line.

> _"Did we go there just a little too soon, did we take our love for granted? If I had fought for us just a little bit harder, would anything be different?"_

Before the summer of 1991, Alice Smith and FP Jones had only known each other from afar. They grew up on the same side of town, they ran with the same crowd, but they had never really been close by no means. On the Southside, there has always been a mutual understanding between its residents and an undeniable sense of community among the kids. When they all had shitty parents and lived in poverty, they knew damn well how to band together. That's all to say that kids from that part of town often had similar home lives, and they all understood that and shared the unspeakable traumas silently but mutually.

Of course, they knew  _of_ each other, they'd even been friends when they were children and running around the trailer park. Especially since Fred and Alice had also shared a strangely beneficial friendship since junior high and FP was Fred's best friend. But, before everything and everyone came together in their junior year, Alice and FP's interactions had consisted of brief, fleeting, forgettable moments that they both revelled in fondly. Around school, running into each other on the Southside, attending the same parties, and so on and so forth.

They didn't think that they would ever really be  _friends._ Based on the shameless amount of flirting that they were both guilty of succumbing to whenever they'd found themselves in each other's presence, they were either destined to be lovers or nothing at all. But, they were both busy kids. FP was trying his hardest to maintain his football captain status all the while dealing with broken bones every now and then due to his father's raging attacks and Alice was busy running from her own father and his shady business dealings, spiteful temper, debts, bills, and broken bottles. All things considered, Alice and FP went out with their friends to raise hell on the streets and cause trouble whenever the hell they could, and it didn't leave them much time to worry about their lingering physical attraction.

 

After Hermione and Fred started dating and Alice and FP were thrown into each other's lives for good, they would both think back to those sweet, subtle moments that they'd shared throughout the years, before their friendship blossomed. Like when FP taught Alice how to climb trees in the woods behind Sunnyside, when he kissed her in an old treehouse on the Southside back when they were in kindergarten, that one camping trip that they'd gone on with all their friends the summer before high school. Back when times were even simpler.

The time that Alice had found herself at her locker after school, popping her chewing gum and adjusting her flannel as she thought about the first bush party of the year that was being held later that night at a place in the sticks just out of town that the kids all called  _Trappers._ That bonfire pit in the middle of the forest had been used by partying teenagers long before they'd even been born.

"Alice," she heard her name called and looked over her shoulder to see her old friend Fred Andrews approaching his own locker, which was only two down from hers, "you're hitting up Trappers tonight, yeah?"

Fred had been born a middle man. He grew up in a house basically right on the train tracks, allowing himself to weave between Northside and Southside lives, before he moved onto the Northside for good when he was in elementary school. That didn't stop him from being friends with just about anybody. Now, Alice Smith wasn't someone that anyone messed with at Riverdale High, and her blinding beauty would always make her someone that the boys would never say no to. But, there were people who could be surprisingly snide about the fact that she was born on the so-called wrong side of the tracks. People like Penelope and Clifford Blossom, people like Hiram Lodge and Marty Mantle, people like Hal Cooper. Fred Andrews had never been one of those people.

"Of course." She answered with a grin, shoving a textbook into her locker after deciding there was no use in taking it home as there was no way in hell she'd be doing any studying that weekend. Now, from afar, it may have looked as though Fred Andrews was going to be a possible love interest in Alice Smith's complicated teenage life, but that had never been the case for the two of them. Had they sometimes given in to some playful flirting? Sure. Had they gotten a little too drunk and shared a simple kiss at a house party once or twice? Yeah. It was only human nature for a couple of hormone-crazed kids. But, did it really mean anything romantic-wise? Not at all. They'd always been friends, they hopefully always would be friends, but there had never been any kind of true romantic spark between the two of them large enough to be seriously acted on.

 

 

The boy who suddenly came by and jokingly slammed Fred into his locker, on the other hand? He was a different story.

As soon as FP Jones appeared and the two best friends began laughing about whatever the hell was so damn funny to their simple minds, Alice was very much forgotten about. She didn't quite know FP well enough to insert herself into their conversation, but that didn't mean that she could successfully ignore the fact that she would have  _loved_ to. FP was the most popular guy on campus, greaser and all. The girls swooned over the fact that he wore that letterman jacket so well around campus but traded it in for a heavy leather one the minute the bell rang and he stepped out into the real world. They all squealed when they caught a glimpse of him lighting up a smoke out in the parking lot or when he gave them a wink as they passed by.

Not only all that, he was the son of a dangerous gang leader. Making him not only a football captain, but a  _dangerous_ football captain. And no girl could resist the charms of a man who was destined to rule a gang and look so damn good doing it. Ruggedly handsome in leathers and steel-toed boots as he ditched his old pickup truck for his motorcycle, Alice herself would have killed to be just another one of those airheaded River Vixens that he took back to his dad's trailer night after night. She wouldn't dare admit that, of course. She had her own dangerous reputation to uphold. Nonetheless, FP Jones had a different unsuspecting girl on his arm every week, and the reason  _why_ was clearly no mystery to anyone.

But, there was never any more to his relationships that pure physicality and a little bit of fun for the time being. The fact that he'd never actually allowed himself to fall in love or succumb to the terms of real romance was purely psychological on his part. But, that's getting ahead of the story, for now. FP was much more than who he was at school. After classes finished for the day and he drove off home in his rusty old Ford, he took care of business on the Southside and at the trailer park. He currently had no personal business with the Southside Serpents, but his father sure did, and that was something that even he couldn't ignore.

But, he came from a family that was worse than most, even for the other Southsiders. Him and Alice both did, actually. His mother had walked out on them years ago, leaving him with an abusively alcoholic father and nothing to defend himself with. And Alice might not find herself at home in her father's broken down shack often, but when she did he took his anger out on her. And that man was angry about  _everything._ Angry about his wife walking out on him for another guy and a better life, angry that he couldn't put down the bottle, angry that he had to work for  _Paulette Peabody_ of all people in order to make ends meet doing jobs that were far from legal, and angry at himself that he couldn't stop slapping his only daughter around whenever he felt like it.

Alice rolled her eyes with a scoff when FP crashed right into her while he was speaking with Fred at his locker in such a boyishly obnoxious way that she actually thought was pretty cute when it came down to it. " _Excuse me,"_ she began sarcastically, she'd always been rather outspoken, especially around the kids that she'd grown up with. Her cheekiness had caused endless problems for her time and time again during her youth, but she  _adored_ trouble. And right now, she was staring trouble right in his brown eyes. FP turned around and raised an eyebrow when he saw her, she could practically feel the tension between the two of them the minute that he'd laid those eyes on her. That was typical, he was always trying to get it wherever he could, "you're not the only person in the world,  _FP Jones. Watch_ it."

 

And instead of cowering in fear upon hearing her venomous words as most did, FP only began to grin at her. He would admit, he'd always been rather impressed by her ability to punch back whenever she felt the need to do so. Or when she was just bored. "Of course not, Alice." He rested a casual hand above her head as she leaned against her locker and watched his face take on a flirtatious air as he overdramatically looked her up and down. "How could I  _possibly_ have not seen you there?"

She couldn't help but grin while rolling her eyes and jokingly shoving him by the shoulder before walking away, provoking a chuckle from FP as she knew damn well that he was watching her leave. Little did she know, it was all the beginning of something much bigger than she could have ever imagined.

 

> _"I can't keep holding on when you're already gone. Just stay in my arms for a little bit longer."_

Fast forward a few hours and picture this:

You're seated in the passenger seat of a little white car, cruising much too fast to be considered legal down the dirt road with your friends in the seats behind you and a leather-wearing girl in the driver's seat with long curly blonde hair and black nail polish. The voice of Darby Mills is screaming sweetly at you while singing a song that's strangely enough about  _suicide_ even though it sounds like such a classic party banger. You take a swig from your flask and wince as the familiar taste of cheap tequila burns your throat. Turning the metal flask over in your hand you see the letters "ASS" written on the front and realize two things. The bottle belongs to Alice Susanna Smith and  _therefore_ you shouldn't have expected any other substance to land on your untrained tongue.

You shake your head in disgust and pass the flask back to the driver, allowing her to take a hearty swig while you crack open a beer bottle with your teeth and hear a cheer from the girls behind you. As your blonde friend fails to swerve away from a pothole, you suddenly find your old Def Leppard t-shirt covered in Budweiser, but you really couldn't care less. You place your combat boot covered feet up on the dashboard and turn up the volume, letting the base rattle the speeding car as you twist and turn down the windy road, bending appropriately since you're all more than familiar with just where you'll come across certain corners and hills.

It was the perfect way to prepare to meet all your friends out there in the middle of the forest to sit around a big bonfire, destroy some pallets, gossip over who would hook up with who in whose car, flicking cigarette ash onto each other, fighting over which burned CD you'd all be listening to on Nighthawk Collins' brand new stereo set, passing around cheap blunts that would likely fail to get any of them even remotely high, and cracking open beer after beer.

If there was one thing that Alice Smith loved, it was making an entrance. Which is precisely why she always timed her and her girls' arrival to these parties perfectly. Arriving an hour into it all was the ideal time, because the party would be just getting going, but everyone would be there. That way, they could hear the roar of her familiar car motor and know just who was pulling up the dirt hill, dodging the trees, and parking in her usual spot before stepping out and blinding them all with her allure. Which is precisely what she did as she put her car in park and stepped out into the dirt, waving to her friends as everyone now laid eyes on her.

Now, these Trappers parties were undoubtedly ruled by Southside kids - ruled by  _Alice Smith,_ in particular - but all were technically welcome. And that would be perfectly fine if  _all_ were like Fred Andrews, unproblematic and open to having a good time. It was when the rich preppy boys, like most of the Bulldogs, showed up looking for a little trouble that things got messy. Everyone else was just up there for a good time, to hang out with friends, get a little buzzed, and take their trucks four by fouring out in the woods. But the Bulldogs didn't usually need to resort to such fun. They partied up in their Hampton-esque mansions and drank champagne while passing around packets of Adderall for fun as opposed to rolling quick and easy joints.

But, every now and then, even those kids craved down and dirty fun. But, they just couldn't leave well enough alone. So, while they were up on Trappers territory, they liked to pick fights with the regular guys and hit on the girls, always willing to enter into a testosterone-fuelled fistfight. The Bulldogs and the other rich boys always lost, and they tended to run back home to mommy with hurt pride and damaged egos.

The beginning of the party was slow, Alice didn't need to remember much of it. She did, however, remember a few things. Lots of plaid, lots of ripped denim, too much leather, Fred Andrews jumping over the fire to impress whichever girl had caught his eye that week, lighting up a cheap cigarette after Hal Cooper had showed up and tried his hardest to strike up a conversation with her, but that was it.

It was no secret that Hal had always been interested in her, he was fairly open about it. Even if he openly shit on her lifestyle and looked down his nose at all the Southside kids, he'd always liked to fantasize about the one and only Alice Smith. He just wasn't her type, a little too boring, a little too privileged, a little too _blonde_. But, her disinterest only seemed to fuel his egotistical fire. Alice had no time for him and the silver spoon that he was born holding, and she certainly had no time for the fact that he expected everyone to fall at his feet and obey every one of his demands simply due to the fact that his last name called for respect around Riverdale. The Southside never really gave a shit about respectability.

Somewhere along the course of the night, Hal had been running his mouth and - already drunk on wine coolers - had mistakenly attempted to pick a fight with FP Jones, his Bulldog rival. FP knocked him to the ground so quickly and so effortlessly that Hal grabbed his douchebag friends and left immediately, groaning in embarrassment as he'd just been publicly humiliated by one of the only people who could make  _Hal Cooper_ feel small. That was when Alice and FP's next brief interlude unfolded before their eyes. FP had noticed her giggling as Hal hung his head and slipped away from the bonfire, attempting to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

Upon hearing her sly, slightly drunken laughter, FP turned her way with a similar amused grin on his face, "You get a kick out of this,  _sweetheart?"_ He teased, and that was the first, but certainly not the last time that he had used that stupid pet name on her.

Alice shook her head, her long blonde curls bouncing as she did so, still grinning. She would never understand how the rich kids like Hal Cooper or Hiram Lodge could constantly manage to be so pretentious, "Says who?" She raised a seemingly innocent eyebrow as she teasingly turned her head the other way. She'd been siting on a slab of wood balancing on two stumps that they'd always used as a makeshift bench simply because it was better than sitting on a pallet. Only just then did she realize that she was suddenly the only one left on that bench as her friends were off God knows where, probably peeing behind a tree or hooking up in the back of someone's car or something along those lines. It wasn't that big of a space, but the size of the fire made the shadows dance in such a way that it was easy to  lose each other to the small crowd.

FP raised his own eyebrows and stood taller, coming closer and, as he walked, the chains on his leather jacket rattled. He was, again, impressed by her quick wit, and she could tell. He  _was_ her type, and she his. "Says the look on your face." Before Alice could even process what was happening, he had sat down beside her, facing towards the fire but turning his head to the left to look in her direction. The most popular boy in school. The guy who had lived in the same trailer park as she had. The brown-eyed boy who had kissed her in kindergarten. The captain of the football team. The son of the Serpent King. Sitting beside her, looking at her, and it shouldn't have made her feel nervous. She was Alice Smith, she could hold her ground all the while bringing the boys to their knees before her. And yet, she felt butterflies in her stomach. A feeling that she hadn't experienced in  _years._ She had been sitting cross-legged, facing where he now sat beside her, but felt uncomfortable turning away or shifting her position now that he suddenly found himself seating mere inches away to her left.

"So," he began, glancing between her wide eyes in a way that made Alice feel a bit of anticipation. She'd always been a flirt by nature, especially when it came to him, but something about him always made things feel strangely different. Like, for some reason, she didn't want to screw anything up.  _Yes,_ she would honestly settle for being just another one of those girls that he took under the bleachers at school, but she had a feeling that once she got a taste of FP Jones, she would  _need_ more. It was ridiculous for her to be thinking so far ahead, they'd only talked a handful of times since their childhood and were barely even friends, let alone anything more. She was surprised that he was striking up a conversation at all, surely he had better things to do. Easier girls to get. He of course would have loved to have his way with her, but he'd always steered clear because he knew that she was far smarter than that, " _Alice Smith."_

She arched a teasing eyebrow as he overdid the use of her full name. He might have been dangerously handsome, but he was nothing more than a devilish flirt, and Alice really should have known better. She should have rolled her eyes and walked away back to her real friends. "What's your story, kid?" He leaned back a bit as the wind blew a gust of smoke in their direction. His voice was different than usual, and it caught her off guard. He was not teasing her, he was not trying to be flirtatious, he was just asking a genuine question, as if he really cared to hear the answer.

Alice cocked her head to the side and searched his rather bloodshot eyes for the truth, did he  _really_ want to know? "My  _story?"_ She questioned, most people already knew her story. Unwanted child, absent mother, alcoholic father, that was that.

"Yeah," he looked away from her for a moment to catch a lighter as it flew at him, tossed by whomever had borrowed it in the first place. But, his eyes found hers again in no time, "you know. Your deep dark secrets, all your hopes and dreams, and all that shit." Now, he was joking, so she snorted a bit and sat up straighter, ripping her already distressed acid wash jeans on the wood of the bench.

"I don't think you could handle it,  _Forsythe."_ She may not have known much about him, but she _did_ know just how much he hated being called by his full name, and he seemed to enjoy her teasing. She was shamelessly flirting with him, even she herself could admit that.

"Well, in  _that_ case, _sweetheart_ ," he fired back, emphasizing the nickname once again, "you've got a lot to learn."

"Is that a challenge, FP?" Alice bit her bottom lip as she spoke to him, and immediately hoped that he hadn't noticed.

"It's whatever you want it to be, babe." He looked away from her and she scoffed, hitting him lightly on the arm to pull them both back to reality. After their briefly flirtatious conversation, they hung around and chatted for a while, before circumstances pulled them away. Alice went back to her friends who were currently holding a crossfaded Marie Topaz up by her arms and in need of a bit of help, and FP took off with Gladys Williams' sister for the night. Typical. Alice dealt with issues while FP got lucky in the back of his truck.

> _"When I close my eyes, you're here with me. I'm danging with your memory."_

And that was that for a while, until came the summer that changed it all.

The summer that Hermione Gomez came into the picture and everything seemingly fell into place. Though it had taken Hermione and Fred mere days to admit their interest in each other, FP and Alice let themselves wallow in their secretly romantic feelings for an entire month. The irony of it all was, while Hermione and Fred were dating to fall in love - which they inevitably  _did -_ Alice and FP were falling in love, all the while never saying a word to each other.

> _"A part of us will always be together, because first loves last forever."_

It was important to note that none of the Southside kids came from particularly  _friendly_ homes, as mentioned previously. And, how did they channel all of the pent-up emotions from their tragic homelives? By getting themselves into endless trouble, of course. The Southside was full of reckless kids, and when they banded together, they could stir up just about anything they wanted to.

On the evening of her birthday, the first of August, a group of kids including Fred Andrews and Hermione Gomez wall found themselves walking the familiar forest path behind the old mill, lead by the one and only Alice Smith. It was out near her house, so Alice had spent a lot of time in those woods and on that small mountain, they all did. And, even though it was supposedly fenced off to the public, she'd spent plenty of nights trespassing on the property of an old abandoned private school that had been in business for only about five years a decade ago.

When whoever owns the property realized that the kids had been jumping the locked fence, they put barbed wire on the top. But, luckily for everyone's entertainment, Alice could pick just about any lock you could throw at her. Besides, Melissa Schoefield always had her wire cutters on hand. And when the kids had gotten sick of merely graffitiing the walls of the abandoned school night after night, they'd decided to take it to the next level. Which is precisely what they were doing the night before Alice turned sixteen. All this to say that, on that hot summer evening, Alice Smith and a group of her troublemaker friends broke into the abandoned school.

What they weren't expecting, however, was for the security system to be up and running. Thanks to the size of their small town, the cops showed up within minutes. Alice knew that they wouldn't possibly let them  _all_ get away with their little harmless crime, especially since there were security cameras all over the property. But, she also knew that as long as one of them took the fall, the others had a better chance of getting away unharmed.

So, she told everyone else to run for it, they all knew where they were going. On the Southside, they were all used to taking one for the team. And tonight, it was her turn. Surprisingly, that was the very first time that she'd ridden in the back of a squad car, and they took her down to the station for many different reasons. The sheriff was very familiar with Alice Smith's antics, she had alcohol in her underaged system, and she'd been trespassing on private property. It wasn't rocket science. But, she wasn't concerned about what this would do to her already tarnished record, she was worried about what her father might do to her when he found out about her predicament.

> _"My desire for you was without a ceiling, and the warmth of  your soul was ever so healing."_

Alice was offered one phone call. There was someone that she  _wanted_ to call, but she wasn't sure if it was her place to do so. FP and her would always raise questions on everybody else's end. They'd clearly grown important to each other over the last couple months as they'd miraculously became closer friends thanks to Hermione and Fred, and they had always been more than just  _friends_ what with how they managed to take flirting to the next level. But, they had never had the  _talk._ Maybe there was nothing to talk about, she really had no idea. They hadn't even  _kissed -_ well, save for the treehouse incident. Not that they hadn't come close recently and not that they certainly didn't  _want_ to more than either of them cared to admit.

Nonetheless, FP had been working a shift down at Pop's that night, which is why he hadn't accompanied them into the school in the first place. Alice didn't want to drag Hermione into this mess, she likely wouldn't know what to do about any of it anyways, and she certainly would rather die than call her father, so she punched in Fred's familiar phone number. She didn't plan on anyone posting her bail that night, no one she knew had the money for that, but she  _did_ want to update her friends on the situation and make sure that everyone else had gotten away cleanly and safely.

"Fred," she'd said after he answered quickly, "it's me."

"Alice?" He responded, relieved that she'd finally called. "I've been waiting hours for you to call, did they  _really_ lock you up?"

"They sure did." She teased casually, as if she wasn't currently sitting behind bars.

Fred sighed good naturedly and shook his head, "I'm coming down to the station, I'll pay your bail, don't worry kiddo."

"No, Fred, don't." Alice stopped him before he could make it out of the house, "That's not why I called you."

Now, Fred was confused. He'd been offering to pawn his goods and she was turning him down? "You...  _don't_ want me to bail you out?"

"No, I'm only in for the rest of the night, I'll be fine." Alice reassured him, "I just wanted to let you know where I was because I'm sure the others are probably going to be wondering."

"Am I your one phone call?"

"Yeah, why?"

Fred now had other thoughts penetrating his mind, "Why didn't you call FP? Why me?"

Alice shut her eyes, she was not in the mood for questions such as those. " _Because,_ I can't bother him with stuff like this, he has his own problems. Besides, I've always been closer with you than him."

"That's bullshit, Alice, and I can smell it from here." Fred deadpanned on the other line.

"Shut up." She snapped at him, though they were only teasing. "It's  _embarrassing,_ okay? I don't want to be just some careless teenage girl who always needs him to come rescue me. I've always been smarter than that, he doesn't need to know any different."

"You know he'll find out sooner or later."

"Well, let's just hope it's later." Alice had always been mysteriously prideful, it was likely her father's poisonous words tainting her own self-esteem. "For the sake of my pride, anyways."

"Does your dad know?" Fred questioned, now more serious than before. There'd been a night or two a while ago that he'd been out with some friends around Alice's neighbourhood and couldn't help but overhear the shattering glass, the miserable shouting, and the cries of pain coming from within the walls of her destitute home. Because of this, he was no stranger to the way that Alice was treated inside her own house.

"I hope to hell he doesn't." Alice had simply been trying her hardest not to think of her father and his theoretical reaction.

"What are you going to do about him? He's going to find out eventually, Alice."

She rubbed her forehead and clenched her eyes shut, "I'll keep my distance until he calms down about it and it all blows over."

"Where will you go?"

She hadn't a clue. She couldn't go to Hermione's, her parents didn't like her. She couldn't stay at Fred's, his dad would get ahold of  _her_ dad. She could always go back to the Southside and just do her best to avoid her father. There were empty trailers at Sunnyside that she could secretly crash in, it wouldn't be the first time. She knew that FP hadn't been getting along with his own father recently and he'd taken to sleeping down in the rec room at the Whyte Wyrm. Perhaps she could get herself set up with a similar solution for the time being. "I'll figure it out, Andrews. I always do." That was true, which reassured both herself and Fred. "Don't worry about me."

But, he  _did_ worry about her. And immediately after she'd hung up the phone, Fred dialed the number for Pop's Diner and got FP on the other line. "Fred? Man, it's two in the morning." FP responded, confused as to why Fred was calling him at the diner at the  _very_ end of his late night shift.

"Hey, FP. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Alice has gone and gotten herself in a bit of trouble, tonight."

FP rolled his eyes, though he truly was concerned, he wasn't surprised. "Is she okay?" He asked first and foremost, "I mean, that doesn't surprise me, but it's not  _bad_ trouble, is it?"

"Well, she's in jail, but she's fine." Fred told him, and FP raised his eyebrows in shock."

 

" _What_?" He'd been in the slammer himself a few times here and there, it was no fun at all. "Are you serious?"

"Like a heart attack." Fred had a feeling that his friend was about to start chuckling.

"That's priceless, holy  _shit_." He'd been correct in his assumption.

"You think it's...  _funny_?" Fred asked, though he understood where FP's amusement was coming from.

"You don't?" FP asked.

"Well, I guess, kind of."

"It's  _hilarious!"_ FP insisted, "She's always running around thinking she's untouchable, she's finally paying the price." FP had noticed Alice's holier-than-thou attitude and always wondered just  _where_ that pride came from for such a seemingly _trashy_ girl.

"Okay, you're right, it's pretty damn funny." Fred gave in, "Ironic, actually, considering how many times she's made fun of you for getting yourself locked up those couple times."

"Exactly my point, buddy." Now, there was the other issue to finally discuss. "Has anyone paid her bail, yet?"

"She doesn't want anyone to." Fred explained, "Doesn't want to trouble any of us, I guess."

FP lowered his eyebrows, annoyed at her inability to take charity of any kind. "That's ridiculous, why is she always like that?"

"Don't know." Fred shrugged, that was a question that he'd never have an answer to, "Hell of a fragile pride on that one."

FP sighed and came to a conclusion, wiping his hands on the apron around his waist before looking at the clock and determining that his shift was officially over. "I'll go get her."

 

 

Alice had only been sitting in her holding cell for about an hour when FP Jones himself came swinging through the door with an amused smirk on his face. Alice stood from the cold bench and crossed her arms, meeting him at the bars that separated them. "Well, well, well..." he began, positively  _loving_ the situation that she'd found herself in, "... _Alice Smith_. Just what kind of mess did you manage to get yourself into, this time?" He grinned with a twinkle in his eyes that had always made Alice's breath hitch.

"Laugh it up, Jones." She retorted, giving him a challenging look of her own though she had no right to do so.

"Oh, I plan to." He was insufferable, and she loved him for it.

"Is that all you came for? To gloat?"

"Have you no faith in me,  _sweetheart_?" FP raised his eyebrows in mock innocence, but Alice had no idea what he meant. By the sounds of it, he was offering to break her out of jail, which would have made for a field day down at the Riverdale Register newspaper print. Before she could even ask, the sheriff came into the room and unlocked her cell.

"Alright, Smith. You're free to go." He said, as Alice stood gaping in disbelief.

"What?" At first, she thought that he was making some kind of twisted joke.

The sheriff just held out his arm, gesturing for her to leave the cell. "Your boyfriend payed your bail, go home." Alice raised her eyebrows in shock, FP didn't have _that_ kind of money, what the hell was he  _thinking_? More importantly, he was  _not_ her boyfriend.

She looked to him with wide eyes, but he only winked at her and placed his hand on her back to usher her out of the station as she couldn't seem to move from where she had been standing. When they got outside, she didn't even know what to say. "Why would you do that?" She honestly couldn't figure it out, she would have been perfectly fine by herself for the night. Besides, it really would have only been a couple more hours.

"Come on," FP said in teasing disbelief, "you really think I'd let you spend the night behind bars?"

She was still uncertain, it was a pretty significant thing to do for someone who was just a mere friend. Even a close friend, at that. "Where did you even get that kind of money, FP?" He could see that she was genuinely concerned, so he turned to face her, no longer teasing.

"I've worked eight hours every day this week, Alice. It was nothing." He tapped her under her chin to settle his point with a smile that made her want to say all the words that were on the tip of her tongue. But, she refrained.

"Where are you sleeping, tonight?" She asked, instincts telling her that he wouldn't be going back to the trailer for the night. She asked because she realized that she needed somewhere to go as well. There was no way in hell that she could go home, her father would have inevitably heard about her incident and there was no telling what he would do. She needed to give him some time to let it all blow over.

"Is that some kind of invitation, Smith?" She smirked at his lighthearted comment that was dripping with innuendo, but she brushed it off."

" _Seriously_ , FP."

He shrugged, as carefree as he always was. "Probably at the Wyrm." The Whyte Wyrm was Southside Serpent territory, and Alice couldn't help but notice that FP had been spending more and more of his time with the Serpents lately, they'd really stepped up for him as his father's been far too busy being their leader to be his father.

Alice cleared her throat, unsure of how to pose her next question. "Do you think, I mean, could I like..." She was struggling to get the words out. She really just needed a place to crash, but she didn't want it to come out in a suggestive manner and she also didn't want to overstep, "... would it be okay if -"

FP seemed to understand what she was getting at, because he just chuckled and threw his arm around her shoulders, leading her over to where he'd parked his pickup truck. "Come on."

> _"If I can't be the one, I hope you find somebody new. That knows you, needs you, lives, and breathes you the way that I still do."_

When they arrived at the bar, Alice had no idea just what she was in for. It was well past midnight, so she knew that only the stragglers would be left and that it would likely just be young Hog Eye the bartender behind the bar. When her and FP came through the doors, she certainly wasn't expecting to see her own father sitting at the bar.

He was a regular at the Wyrm, he was rather Serpent-adjacent himself, but he usually went home before midnight. The fact that he was still here wasn't a good sign, it meant that he was twice as drunk as he normally was. Besides, who knew what else he had in his system besides simple alcohol. He clearly wasn't expecting to see his wayward daughter show up there. The shock in his eyes was evident until it gave way to an unapologetic fury. "What in the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" He growled, rising from his seat though he had difficulty doing so.

Alice said nothing, still in shock from seeing him there. FP stepped in front of her ever so slightly, her father hadn't noticed, but she sure did. "First you get your ass thrown in jail, then you show up at the bar in the middle of the goddamn night thinking  _what_? That _this_ is where you'll be crashing from now on?" He was slurring his words all over the place, but Alice had gotten pretty good at understanding him over the years even in his most intoxicated of states.

As he staggered closer, he only then seemed to notice FP's presence. " _Oh_ , I see..." he said, talking down at her like she was nothing more than a beaten dog, "... you're here with  _this_ guy, with this  _Jones_ boy. Is  _that_ what you're doing in your spare time, now?"

Alice understood what he was insinuating, and it infuriated her, but she stayed as calm as she could. Her father pushed FP away from her so that he could look his daughter in the face. "I  _knew_ it was only a matter of time before you walked out on me just like your  _whore_ mother." For some reason, Alice hadn't seen the slap coming. But, it knocked the wind out of her and she could already feel a bruise forming on her fair cheek. She was seeing stars when her father sneered at her and walked out of the bar.

FP was by her side in an instant, cupping her exhausted face in his hands, his eyes frantically assessing the damage. "You alright?" He asked hurriedly, and the look in his eye told Alice everything. He'd always been worried that her father had been physically abusive at times, but now that it was confirmed right before his eyes, he was in pain of his own.

Alice nodded, she was used to it. That's not to make it sound like her father hit her all the time, it didn't actually happen often. And it was usually reduced to quick slaps, shoves, and hair pulling. He'd never drawn blood and he'd never knocked her out, and for that reason, she was luckier than most kids living in similar situations. But, it happened often enough for it to stop shaking her to her very core. She didn't even cry anymore, which was probably why she looked so unfazed to FP. He understood that. His own father had broken his arm once.

After they'd both shaken off the incident, they went down to the basement, where they planned to sleep that night. As FP shrugged off his leather jacket and threw it onto the back of a nearby chair, Alice went to the back of the room and grabbed two bottles of beer out of the cooler, tossing one in his direction. He caught it without missing a beat, and opened it with his teeth - something that he'd always been good at - while she had to use her keys.

"You sure you're alright there, Smith?" He asked once more, and Alice wasn't lying when she responded positively.

"Yeah, now what do you say?" She held up two cue sticks, clearly suggesting that they take advantage of the pool table in the centre of the room. "You ready to get your ass kicked,  _handsome_?"

FP shook his head with a grin, always amused by her brashness, "In your dreams,  _sweetheart_." He swiftly took a stick from her hands and set up the game. They didn't care that it was two in the morning, they didn't care that it had been a busy night and tomorrow would be an equally trying day, they didn't care about any of it, they never did. The game was over within fifteen minutes, he never showed any mercy as he won yet again.

They'd been having a good time up until then, that was when they started arguing. It was always about something stupid, something that really shouldn't have evoked such a big fight. They'd always had trouble saying what they really meant, so they typically ended up dancing around what the real problem was whenever they fought. How the argument started didn't matter, because it only took a few minutes for their conversation to shift as they started to argue about all the usual things. About how she needed to be more careful about getting into shit, about how she wished he would talk to her more when  _he_ was in trouble and just let her be there for him, about how she was always indulging Harold Cooper's flirtatious wishes even though she wanted nothing to do with him. Basically, they argued like they were a couple, even though, as far as they both knew, they were nothing more than friends.

"You know, sometimes I really don't think I know who you are." FP shook his head as he yelled, countering whatever argument she'd previously thrown at him.

" _Seriously_ , FP? _That's_ what you're going with?"

"Yeah, I  _am_ serious, Alice!" Their pleasant night had clearly been discarded unceremoniously. "Are you the girl at school who sits beside me in biology and talks about wanting to make a name for herself and get out of the Southside and away from everything you were born into? Or are you the girl that I met down at the trailer park who runs around outside and climbs fences and drinks beer? Are you the rowdy kid who wants to join the Serpents and spends the night in the slammer or are you the Northside  _wannabe_ who dreams of living a  _perfect_ Stepford life up on  _Elm Street?_ Because sometimes, I don't  _know_! I don't  _know_ who you are!"

Alice had no time for the tangent that he had spun. She glared at him and crossed her arms, " _Right_ , because it's impossible for me to be  _both_? I can't be more than  _one_ stereotype in your mind, can I?"

"It's not about  _stereotypes_!  _God_ , it's about  _loyalty_!"

"Okay, well in that case, who are  _you_? Are you the playboy football captain who sits at the most _popular_ table during lunchtimes at school, or are you the greaser gang member from the wrong side of the tracks, hmm? Which one is it? Because, if _I_ have to pick then _you_ sure as hell can't play for both teams either." Alice countered, shoving his own argument in his face.

"I'm not a  _member_ of the gang,  _Alice_!" Though, he certainly came close most days.

"Maybe not officially, but your father  _runs_ the gang and that means,  _what_?  _Nothing_?"

"I'm  _not_ my father." That was where FP put his foot down. "And if we're going to play this game, then the question isn't just who  _are_ you, it's what the  _hell_ do you  _want_?" FP took a step closer to her, wishing that her eyes weren't lighting up so fabulously so that he could remain mad at her. "Do you want what _we_ have here with Fred and Hermione and with the other kids on this side of town having a good time together down at the bar and at Pop's, or do you want dinner dates with _Hal_ _Cooper_ down at expensive restaurants so that he can buy you  _fancy_  gifts?"

Alice gasped, positively fuming. "This isn't about  _Hal_ _Cooper_ , FP! How can you  _possibly_ use him against me because I went on  _one_ date with him while you're off screwing a different Vixen every other  _weekend_?" Her argument was nothing but valid, and even he knew that.

"That's  _different_."

" _Please_ , explain to me just  _how_ it's so  _different_ , FP!"

"Because running around with cheerleaders means  _nothing_ to me! It's a way to pass time, you  _know_ that! What you're doing with Cooper could turn into something a lot more, something that you're not going to be able to get yourself out of." FP explained, though his train of thought was running rampant.

"I'm not  _doing_ anything with Hal! And besides, what makes you think that I'll  _want_ to get myself out of it later?"

"Because, I  _know_ you,  _Alice_! I know that you don't belong with a guy like that and that you'd only ever be with him to fulfill some crazy delusional desire you have for a better life! He's not what you need, he's what you  _want_." FP spat out his last argument, clearly bitter about the fact that he thought Alice didn't  _want_ someone like him. How he could possibly think that was beyond even her.

Alice now felt the need to get her  _true_ point across, so she took a step closer to him and looked him in the eye. "He's not what I  _want_!" She said, before she could even consider the implications. "He might not be what I  _need_ , but he's not _what_ I want, either!"

FP allowed a cloud of desire to haze his eyes as he stared down at her. The tension had been unknowingly rising with every argument they'd had, but now as they locked eyes with each other and took challenging steps closer, their intentions were clear. "Then what," FP began, his voice low and lusty, "what do you want?" It was more than obvious what  _he_ wanted, and the look in her eyes gave him the go ahead.

"I..." she began, her voice a mere whisper as he suddenly wrapped a hand around her lower back. Before she could stop herself, she placed her own hand on his chest and moved closer to him all the while staring down at his lips, "...I want -" Her words were cut short after FP inhaled sharply, as if he was going to spit out another argument, but instead of doing so, he rolled his eyes and then kissed her. The way that he did so and the milliseconds leading up to it certainly made it seem like he was frustrated with himself and the way that he'd been feeling and decided to just man up and act on it already.

They both felt all the things that they were supposed to feel for the very first time. It wasn't either of their first kisses, not by far, but it was one of the rare sober ones, and it was the first one that didn't feel forced. It just didn't feel like two lips meeting, it felt like the moment that they'd been waiting for since God only knows when. It was quite literally as if they hadn't even realized that the world as sitting precariously off-balanced until it finally shifted back into place. It truly was magical, and all they could do was hope that the other felt the same way.

His right hand was on her face while his left hand was around her waist, pulling her closer though he loosened his grip when their lips parted. Alice was genuinely in utter shock, she knew that  _she_ had feelings for him, and she knew that he showed interest in her, but she had no  _idea_ how passionate it would be when they finally both took the first steps towards admitting that. It must have meant that his feelings for her were just as unmeasurable as hers were for him. Alice began to smile before her eyes fluttered open and met his - wide and uncertain. She'd always been able to see so much more than he wanted her to see behind his eyes, and she was currently looking at someone who was realizing many things all at once. A person who was asking thousands of questions and awaiting her answers.

They'd never been good at talking. So, instead of doing so, Alice kissed him back. This time, it was hungry and quick, like the first kiss had opened a floodgate of possibilities.

If Hog Eye knew that Alice Smith had lost her virginity on the couch in the basement of his bar, he'd probably have her head, but he never found out, to this day. She knew that it was supposed to be scary and her friends had told her to expect a wave of nausea, but she didn't feel any of that. It didn't feel great, obviously, it hurt like hellfire. But, she can quite honestly say that she'd never felt safer. And that had everything to do with the boy that became her partner in crime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "First Loves" by Paul McDonald.


	5. New Year's Day

> _"There's glitter on the floor after the party. Candle wax and polaroids on the hardwood floor - you and me from the night before."_

For quite some time, the rest was history.

Hermione and Fred continued to expand their relationship as FP and Alice cautiously explored their own in secret. The four of them remained closer than ever before as they lived one last month of the best summer of their lives. While Alice and FP refused to label their relationship, they spent the rest of August doing things that really only couples would dare do. They - accompanied by Hermione and Fred, of course - spent countless nights camping under the stars, getting cozy at the drive-in, going for weekend trips out to Sweetwater Swimming Hole, taking roadtrips, lighting bonfires, going to house parties, attending pool parties, you name it.

The summer was one for the books, and after that first month of being together but not  _together,_ the relationship between Alice and FP - or lack there of - was taking a toll on everyone. They spent more time together just the two of them, they got to know each other on new levels, they continued to sneak through bedroom windows and take each other into their beds, but they realized that it was clear - they were well past the stage of developing feelings. They were full blown in love with each other. Alice Smith and FP Jones became each other's safety, and it was the best feeling in the world. The word  _home_ finally had a meaning.

FP had never been able to find the perfect words to say to her, but Alice didn't  _care,_ because she could hear everything that he wanted to say simply by looking into his brown eyes. For him, actions had always spoken far louder than words ever could, and she understood that. She just  _loved_ him, it was as simple as that. She loved the good and the bad, the fights and the bickering, the love making and the romantic nights, she loved every part of him.

Their friends had questions, but to their undying credit, they never really asked them aloud. They all knew that Alice and FP had been spending an awful lot of time together as the summer progressed and their junior year began. They could at least piece together the fact that they were definitely sleeping together, but that was all they really knew. No one wanted to ask for fear of ruining whatever FP and Alice had going on or making things awkward for them. Of course, Alice had questions of her own about the matter for FP, but she didn't dare ask them. She wanted to know if they were ever going to become more than an undefined relationship, but deep down, she was terrified of his answer.

> _"Don't read the last page, but I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away. I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day."_

And it was thanks to Fred Andrew's own simple-minded mistake that Alice Smith finally got a  _glimpse_ of the answer to her questions.

FP and Fred had been down at Pop's one night, hanging out as they so often did. Apparently, Fred had finally asked him, man to man, what the deal was with him and Alice. It was just the two of them, Fred had been asking out of genuine concern for both his friends, and FP trusted him like a brother without a doubt in his mind, so he opened up to him.

Now, you may be wondering just how  _Alice_ knew any of this. Because meanwhile, Fred had managed to accidentally pocket-dial the first number on his speed dial - Hermione Gomez - on his brand new Nokia flip cell phone that he had no idea how to use. And thanks to the tricky hands of fate, Hermione had heard every word.

"I can't remember exactly what he said, but the bottom line is that I think he's in love with you, Alice." Hermione had  _immediately_ called after hearing Fred and FP's conversation, and was currently relaying all that she knew to her best friend.

Alice didn't realize just how much of a relief that particular revelation would prove to be, she supposed that she'd been worrying about it more than she'd initially thought. " _What?"_ Alice demanded as an uncontrollable grin spread across her usually threatening face. "How do you know that?"

"Well, he didn't  _say_ it, exactly..." Hermione shrugged, "... but all he could talk about was how much he  _likes_ you and how much you  _mean_ to him and how he wasn't planning on  _falling_ this hard for you!" She was practically squealing as the teenage girl revelled in the love story that was playing out before her eyes, "Girl, he  _straight up_ said that you were the most important thing in his life!"

"He  _said_ that?" Alice gasped, glad that the feeling was mutual. Now, if only she didn't have to hear it from Hermione as opposed to FP himself.

"Word for  _freaking_ word. And then Fred asked him what the hell he was waiting for if that was the case, and then it got... well, it got a bit  _muffled_ because, remember, I'm in Fred's  _ass_ pocket, but from what I gather, FP's actually really  _scared_ about the whole thing."

" _Scared?"_ FP Jones wasn't scared of anything.

"Yeah, of getting hurt, for one. Not only that, he was telling Fred how he was afraid that he could never really be good enough for you. He said something about the fact that he knows exactly what kind of life he was destined to lead on the Southside and that he had no interest in dragging you down with him."

At least Alice now had an idea of what was holding them back. But, from that moment forward, she tried her best to prove to him that she didn't  _care_ what kind of life either of them were forced to live, as long as they were  _together,_ it would always be more than she could have ever hoped for. And as far as not deserving him went, she thought that, if anything, it was  _her_ who didn't deserve all the greatness that FP Jones had to offer.

> _"I can tell that it's going to be a long road. I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe, or if you strike out and you're crawling home."_

It took far longer than Alice would have liked, but it finally all came together over that winter break. Her and FP had been casually seeing each other since the first of August, but they still hadn't talked about what exactly they  _were._ Frankly, Alice had previously been fine with stolen moments together and countless evening spent in each other's secretly romantic company, but she was growing restless. With her father an abusive loose canon and her mother nowhere to be found, Alice needed stability coming from at least  _one_ of her relationships. That was where FP's true intentions needed to be taken into account.

Of course, Alice had always been one who knows precisely what she wants and exactly how to get it. Why did FP Jones insist on making it all so hard for her? Most likely because she'd never had something like this before - something real, something wild and rather reckless. Something that she would rather die than lose.

It was at Fred Andrews' New Year's Eve party in the dead of the winter that it finally happened. FP and Alice had both showed up separately and as  _late_ as could be, as they'd both just finished their shifts for the evening. FP was still working down at Pop's while Alice had been serving down at the Whyte Wyrm as she'd taken to doing recently. For the past few days, FP had been acting strangely colder than usual towards her, but Alice had a pretty good idea as to was. Mainly because of what Hermione had told her over the phone about a week ago, and because Fred always did an endearingly shit job of keeping his mouth shut.

The bottom line was that FP was still scared of jumping in over his head. But, Alice happened to believe that living in fear was no life at all, precisely why she constantly refused to do so.

But, it was New Year's Eve, it was supposed to be a  _fun_ night for kids like them. Therefore, Alice refused to let the potential love of her life ruin her entire evening. If FP was going to put on his usual disinterested act and pretend like she meant less to him than she really did, two could play at that game. There were people who really  _would_ show public interest in her, she knew that for a fact. And a certain one of those people was bound to show up at Fred's party, right?

It all began when Alice arrived to the party and FP acted like he didn't even  _see_ her show up, which was obnoxiously annoying as Alice was wearing his favourite colour just for him. She hated that she continuously put in effort like that only to have him pretend that he didn't care simply because at times he refused to allow himself to gain anything that he could possibly lose in the future. Even  _friends_ greeted each other when arriving to parties, and  _everyone_ knew that Alice and FP were now close friends thanks to Hermione and Fred's relationship and their joint activities.

Fortunately, Alice didn't even have to work too hard as the universe threw the answer to her situation into her grateful hands. She had been in the kitchen, pouring herself a drink, knowing full well that FP was somewhere behind her talking to Fred near the sink, when her friend Mary Maiden burst into the room, clearly already very drunk, and grabbed her by the shoulders, almost causing Alice to spill her strong drink down the front of her dress. " _Alice!"_ Mary shouted excitedly, though she didn't need to do so, as Alice could hear her  _just_ fine without the yelling. "Hal Cooper wants to kiss you at midnight, he's telling everyone!"

Alice hadn't been expecting Mary's declaration, but she now knew  _damn_ well that it had caught the attention of a certain dark-haired boy lingering behind her. Knowing that this would be perfect for what she planned to do, Alice only smirked rambunctiously, as if she was truly giving it some thought. " _Hal Cooper,_ huh?"

"What can I tell him?" Mary grinned at her, practically jumping up and down though it had nothing at all to do with  _her._

Due to her friend's childish excitement, Alice giggled as she answered, "Tell him  _maybe."_ Mary squealed and ran off then, leaving the rest of it up to fate. As Alice left the kitchen herself, she glanced backwards and caught a glimpse of FP, who didn't catch her gaze but was rolling his eyes with a sour look on his face. It shouldn't have, but it made Alice feel really quite satisfied.

Another hour passed in its usual way, but Alice could feel Hal flirting with her even more shamelessly than usual. She'd always be somewhat of a great conquest to the privileged rich boy, one that he intended to conquer. He was so persistent that it became painfully clear to Alice just how badly she needed another drink, making the experience all that much worse. She hoped that it would all be worth it once she was able to give FP Jones a taste of his own bitter medicine.

Finally, when Alice saw FP push his way through the crowd and out the front door a few minutes before midnight, she decided that it was time that they make nice with each other. She left Hal mid-sentence and caught the door before it slammed shut behind FP while she called after him before he could get off the porch. "Where are you running off to, handsome?" She smiled, hoping that they could just admit that they were both acting stupid and move on to the good parts.

FP turned back to face her and shook his head soberly in disbelief, causing Alice to cross her arms - already defensive. "You're really going to _kiss_ that asshole, Alice?" Following his rhetorical statement, Alice rolled her eyes, he was mad at her for something that had yet to even  _happen._ "You're really going to sit in there and let him talk you up all night knowing  _damn_ well that he's an idiot?"

If they were going to fight, then Alice surely wasn't going to be holding anything back - the showdown was only just beginning. " _Excuse me,_ but if I want to let someone show me some attention at a party then  _what_ exactly is standing in my way?" FP had opened his mouth as if to answer her question, but Alice didn't let him. "And  _don't_ say that  _you_ are, because  _you_ can't even swallow your pride long enough to tell me what we  _are_ to each other let alone how you  _feel_ about me!" FP blinked and took a step closer to where she stood, hoping that it would prevent her from yelling in the way that she was, but Alice refused to let him argue just yet. "So, if I want to let  _Hal Cooper_ flirt with me even though he's a moron and if I want to let him kiss me at midnight because he would be  _proud_ to do so, then I'm going to!"

"Alice, you  _can't_ just -" Whatever his argument was going to be, it was likely not worth her time, so Alice cut him off.

"And  _why_ the hell  _not?"_

"Because, I'm in  _love_ with you!" FP shouted, his words coming out ever so harshly though they held such a tender meaning.

There wasn't much in this world that left Alice Smith speechless, but she now found herself at a complete and utter loss for words as she stood there in the chilling winter wind. All she could do was blink her wide eyes in surprise as FP held out his hands as if to say,  _there it is, are you happy?_ He knew that there was no taking back what he'd said, but he also had no idea what would happen next, so he felt the sudden need to remove himself from the situation before it could get any worse.

Alice barely had time to process the weight of his heavy announcement before FP had turned away from her and begun to walk down the wooden steps of Fred Andrews' porch, clearly making his way back to his truck. She snapped back to reality within seconds and realized that the ball was now undeniably in her court. "FP -" she called after him in confusion as to why he was walking away after such an important revelation and began to chase after him, nearly slipping down the icy stairs in the meantime, "FP,  _wait..."_ She finally got around in front of him, not particularly caring that the snow was soaking through her tights and freezing her otherwise bare feet.

FP looked frustrated with himself, so she tried to steady his thoughts by placing her hand tenderly on his cheek. She couldn't believe that she was looking into the eyes of the person that she wanted to spend eternity with. How could she have possibly known this at the young age of  _sixteen?_ It was ridiculous, and yet, it was the truth. Alice's blue eyes darted between FP's brown ones as a smile returned to her face. "I love you, too." She declared softly, her very heart and soul pouring out of her voice and seeping through her eyes. Alice's words had been positively dripping with truth, but FP still seemed surprised to hear them. As if she could have  _possibly_ felt any other way.

> _"Hold on to the memories, they will hod on to you. And I will hold on to you."_

 

And there it was. In that moment, they'd said all that they needed to say. When their lips met, the midnight fireworks may as well have already been lighting up the winter night's sky. To this very day, Alice Cooper can say with complete certainty that hearing those words from FP Jones was the most important moment of her entire life.

> _"Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "New Years Day" by Taylor Swift.


	6. Dust In The Wind

> _"I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone. All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity. Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind."_

Throughout their classic nineties love affairs featuring personalized mixtapes, drag racing their old cars on the old Southside highway that was now nothing more than a forgotten dirt road, chucking beer bottles out onto the streets, sneaking into the movies without paying, and climbing through bedroom windows to avoid an audience of parents, Hermione Gomez, Fred Andrews, Alice Cooper, and FP Jones found themselves.

They were growing into the very best versions of themselves, it was as if through the fog and the smoke and the grime, they had all reached out, took each other's hands, and cleared a perfect path fit just for the four of them. They were four peas in a pod, all the while still each very different from each other.

Alice still raised hell on the Southside with her greaser friends in the evenings and Hermione still studied enough to maintain her good girl status while beginning to join in on Alice's lowerclass antics. FP Jones continued to wear his letterman jacket on campus and lead his team of Bulldogs to victory week after week, and he'd also been spending an awful lot of time down at the Whyte Wyrm and on other Southside Serpent territories, accompanying his father on work trips and member meetings and such. He was basically a Serpent now, simply without an official jacket. And Fred Andrews never changed. He was still the same old musician practising day and night out in his garage, making sweet, sweet music with his old beat-up six string whenever he wasn't out on the field swinging around a bat and leading his own team to victory.

Fred and Hermione's love affair proved to be even more chaotic than their friends'. They'd been all consumed with each other from the moment that they came face to face that one summer afternoon, and they'd gone completely full send from then on out. Which, ultimately, lead to their consequential demise. They'd jumped right into the relationship without holding anything back, they'd forgotten to cherish the delicate moments that came with falling in love. They dove far too deep much too quickly and, come the beginning of their senior year, they were paying the price. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

As for Alice and FP, they were just the opposite, against all odds. They were the kind of couple that didn't annoy everyone when they were seen out together or in the halls of Riverdale High. For  _months,_ no one even knew whether or not they were dating, and before they'd officially become a couple out there on Fred Andrews' porch on New Year's Eve, everyone in Riverdale had truly been rooting for them to come to terms with their complicated feelings. When the relationship finally blossomed, no one was irritated to see the two of them walking hand in hand down the streets or making eyes at each other at their lockers.

Both couples were founded on the same concept - true love. Soulmates were suddenly the grand possibility, and all four of them silently believed to have found theirs. They entered their senior year as a solid group once again, thinking that nothing could tear them apart. But, they were soon hit with reality. Summertime for teenagers was the same wherever one went. Wild, crazy, fun, and seemingly endless. Everything in the summer gets wiped clean from reputations to expectations and anything is possible. When school starts up again, that all comes crashing down. Ask anyone, they'll say the same. And though the two couples  _had_ that true love that they needed in order to thrive, perhaps that wasn't quite enough to keep their foundation as solid as necessary to get them through their last year of high school.

Hermione and Fred were the first to fall apart.

Because Hermione had been taught to desire a mansion. She'd grown up watching her mother clean toilets and scramble to make ends meet while expressing to her daughter that she wished she'd just married a rich man and had the world handed to her on a silver platter. Knowing this, all Hermione wanted to do was make money of her own to give back to her mother. She felt as though she was failing by settling for  _love._ Because she's been raised to keep it classy, and yet two of her best friends were Southside Serpents who spent most of their time in a trailer park, of all things, and her own boyfriend was about as middle class as it gets. Not only that, but Hermione realized that there was absolutely nothing wrong with those so-called  _troubled_ kids that came from the other side of the tracks.

And as for Fred, he'd always been the simplest of men. He knew who he loved, he knew who he was, he knew right from wrong, and he'd never let anything stand in the way of that. He was the least selfish person out there, but that made him extremely passive. Whatever anyone else wanted - especially those that he cared for - he'd stop at nothing to get for them. Which is precisely why he didn't fight harder when Hermione walked away from him and turned first to Marty Mantle, and then to Hiram Lodge - who could give her the wealth that her mother dreamed of. It wasn't as if the spark between her and Fred had simply died, leaving no attraction or affection between the two of them, it wasn't that at all. It all had to do with the way that they'd both been conditioned to act.

So, Fred Andrews and Hermione Gomez were no more, and they would both forever regret allowing their relationship to fall apart the way that it did. Hiram would prove to be a tyrant of epic proportions, leaving Hermione to feel used, unloved, and unprotected - three things that Fred Andrews would  _never_ have allowed her to feel. And as Fred turned to his old friend Mary Maiden for romantic support, he knew that he'd made a mistake every time that he stared into her brown eyes and they didn't give him the same intense feeling of affection that Hermione's always had.

Knowing that their love lingered - and likely forever would - was the hardest part.

And though their relationship was still seemingly going strong through the first half of senior year, Alice and FP were experiencing similar turbulence.

Alice had experienced it all on the Southside. She'd spent her first years at Sunnyside, she lived in a broken down shack with her dad for the rest of her young life, she'd joined the Serpents,and she'd taken to couch surfing the past few years. Her dad drank, her mom cheated and walked out, everyone that she'd ever loved her had ended up hurting her save for FP Jones. And even that was about to change. But, their fallout was not one sided.

Because, Alice grew sick of being nothing but Southside Scum. She was sick of broken floorboards and an abundance of drugs and  _flannel shirts._ She knew that she loved her wild life, she loved causing trouble and running with the night shadows, she truly did. But, her desires began to deceive her when she suddenly dreamed of a big house on Elm Street, hiding no secrets save for a perfect family. She knew that if she changed her ways, she could potentially chase that wealth and perfection and embrace the riches of the Northside. But, was respectability  _really_ all that it was cracked up to be?

And FP Jones knew that he would soon have to face a decision. He couldn't continue to play football and attempt to enjoy a regular senior year, not while his father had one foot out the door and his mother had left  _years_ ago. The Serpents were pressuring him to follow in his father's footsteps, but did he really want to? Did he want to wind up a greaser gang leader for the rest of his life, constantly running from the law and being looked down on by all the Northsiders while simultaneously scaring the hell out of them?

Some aspects of that life sounded almost appealing and fully suitable, he knew that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But, the truth of the matter was that he didn't believe himself to have much of a choice. College wasn't an option, he'd never be able to afford a house on the Northside, he wasn't going to get anywhere farther than maybe the army, and therefore he knew that he'd be condemned to the Southside, likely even Sunnyside Trailer Park itself. So, why  _not_ join the gang that could at least offer him an occupation?

Nonetheless, by the time March of their senior year rolled around, it was clear as day that FP Jones was heading down a dark path. His father had kicked him out, his shifts at Pop's weren't enough for him to make a living on his own, and he was therefore getting involved with dangerous people. On the Southside, if one is down on their luck and desperate enough, odd jobs are easy to come across. But, they're also risky to everyone involved. When dealing with unscrupulous people such as the ones that FP had begun to associate with in order to earn a nickel, everyone that he loved was suddenly put in danger. It was no small matter, and he knew that better than anyone.

And, unfortunately for the both of them, Alice Smith was the only person that FP could be  _certain_ that he loved.

Over a year ago, when he'd taken the stand and completed his Serpent initiation, becoming an official member branded with the insignia of a two-headed snake on the back of his leather jacket as well as inked permanently on the skin of his side, it was a far simpler time. And watching Alice strip off her clothes to reveal a black lingerie set as she danced around a pole in front of the entire bar sparked intense jealousy, but it didn't  _scare_ him the way that it did now. Because, back then, the notion that they'd just joined a  _gang_ hadn't hit him yet, as all they did was party and drink and play pool at the Wyrm. The danger wasn't apparent to him.

Of course, with his father being their king, FP Jones was dubbed the  _Serpent Prince,_ thus inevitably making Alice Smith his Serpent Princess. Before she'd even officially joined the gang, she was roped in thanks to him. As were anyone close to FP, such as Fred and Hermione, as they'd never given the Serpents any reason to dislike them and were valued friends of their prince.

But, FP hated the idea of dragging anyone through his own turmoil. Now, even though Alice had had that tattoo on her thigh for nearly a year, he wanted to rip it off her skin as if it had never been placed there at all. In his eyes, their involvement in the gang meant different things for the both of them. Because, Jack had joined out of necessity, to keep himself alive. Whereas, Alice had joined in order to gain a family, a safe place to be herself, and in order to continue to be a part of her boyfriend's world. And FP couldn't have her life at risk thanks to his own unfortunate circumstances. Not only did Alice mean more to him than that, she was  _destined_ for more than that. But, Alice wasn't stupid. She knew that FP was wading deeper and deeper into snake-infested waters, but she was also ready to ride or die - she always had been.

But, her loyalty was  _unacceptable_ to him, and that would lead to their own tragic demise. In his mind, FP only had the one option. And if that was the case, then he needed her out.

While Fred and Hermione had already been broken up for two months now, it was still all anyone could talk about around school, so no one even noticed Alice and FP's turmoil. Because, on a cold February morning, Hermione had looked the love of her life in the eyes and told him that they were through, like it meant  _nothing_ to her. And once the coyotes around town got ahold of that information, they refused to let it go.

Nonetheless, it was the hardest thing that she'd ever had to do, and even Fred himself knew that. He knew  _her_ better to think anything else. He saw quite clearly the undeniable pain behind her eyes that she'd been attempting to hide. And when she turned away from him, she let the tears fall freely. As if overnight, Hermione Gomez had turned into precisely who everyone expected her to be.

She wore black pencil dresses to school paired with Louboutin heels and turned her nose up at anyone slightly less wealthy than she. She threw away her glasses and started wearing contact lenses, she got her eyebrows done and started wearing pearls wherever she could. Hermione became the rich bitch that she was destined to be. And with that, rumours flew. She'd gone crazy, she'd only been dating Fred as a joke, she'd been friends with Alice to learn her dirty secrets and expose them to the world, she was on cocaine, she was pregnant. No one knew the truth - her mother was sick, very sick.

And she needed to make her mother proud in the last few years that they might have together. That meant breaking up with Fred, spending less time on the Southside, cleaning up her act, and reigning herself in. She'd decided to live a lie in exchange for money as she pretended to be in love with Hiram Lodge.

Hiram was richer than rich, but made his money in rather high class criminal ways. Clearly different from how FP was drug running here and there to make some spare cash, Hiram committed fraudulent acts and under the table deals with rich mobsters. In him, Hermione saw a life of luxury. She saw someone that could give her what her mother wanted. So, she grabbed onto him and wasn't about to let go. Leaving Fred Andrews heartbroken but passive.

And two months later, FP and Alice were too officially on the rocks.

Neither of them really knew what came next with respect to their relationship. They'd been together for over a year and in love with each other for a lot longer than that. But, they began to fight nearly every day, about the same old things. Though, this time, it really was life or death. Their differences had never been more apparent when the beginning of April came into the picture.

FP's father had been arrested. The Serpent King incarcerated for the next sixty years, which he would certainly die before seeing through. FP was relieved, on the surface, to be free of his deadbeat dad. He started living in the trailer again, cleaned up the place and made it rather livable. But, that meant that he had to step into the position of Serpent Kind far earlier than he'd been prepared for. He'd just turned seventeen and now he was a gang leader.

Meanwhile, Alice had begun secretly applying for colleges and hoping to get out of their dead end town, if only for a few years. Before everything came together, she'd always wanted to leave. Of course, her applications were simply for amusement, as opposed to seeing where they really might lead her. So long as her and FP were planning their future together, she needed to be wherever he was, she  _wanted_ to be. She'd thought that had been clear to the both of them.

The  _Spring Fling Formal_ of their senior year went down in history.

Hermione hadn't spoken to FP, Alice, or Fred since the breakup, and she was currently running with a brand new crowd of bitchy rich girls. She attended the dance with Hiram Lodge glistening on her arm and a crowd of minions behind her. She wore a form fitting green dress that glittered when she moved and she had her hair curled and cascading down her back. Meanwhile, Fred showed up with Mary Maiden, and the two were seemingly happy settling for mutual mediocrity. 

FP wore a dangerous looking red tuxedo fit for a gang leader to the dance and the blonde girl on his arm wore a dark purple dress with a slit up the side. Alice's untamed hair bounced around her shoulders and she'd thrown on a black choker to remind everyone that she was still the Serpent Queen, even if she was wearing heels. Neither of them said it, but they both knew that their relationship was about to come to an explosive end. Which is precisely why they were out to make the most of what could have been their very last night together. When FP arrived at her house to pick her up in his truck, it was all very bittersweet as he kissed her temple and held the door for her. He'd be in love with Alice Smith until the day he died, he knew that. Be he also knew that it was dangerous, which is why it had to end.

Everything at the Spring Fling was going to hell. Hermione had near thrown a fit during the dance after someone suggested that she was friends with Alice, and she'd started shouting that she'd never be friends with scum like her who was wasting away on the Southside, catching the attention of just about everyone else at the dace. FP had attempted to step in when he saw Alice's humiliated face, but Fred held him back and ran after Hermione after she'd fled with tears running down her face. Clearly, something was going on with her, and even though they'd had a falling out of their own, Fred was determined to get to the bottom of it.

After the incident, FP and Alice cut bait and took off, heading for the Southside, while Fred and Hermione met in the hallway of Riverdale High. Looking at her distraught face, Fred wondered if perhaps the rumours were true, maybe she  _had_ gone crazy. The look in her eyes certainly made that seem very plausible. But, before the truth could come out and she could tell Fred that she never wanted to leave him and that she still loved him, their defences lowered instinctively and their lips crashed into each other. And that was the very first time that Hermione Gomez had cheated on Hiram Lodge with Fred Andrews.

Meanwhile, now at the Wyrm, FP had gotten a call on the phone in the bar from whichever shady person he'd gotten himself involved with this time around, and Alice couldn't stand for it any longer. Their night came to a harsh conclusion with him and her standing outside the bar as the rain fell around them while Alice tearfully begged him to let her help him with whatever kind of trouble he was in. Asking him why they couldn't just hold on to each other for dear life like they used to and let the storm pass. Wondering what on earth had changed so drastically for them.

 

" _Because!"_ FP snapped harshly, wearing his heart on his sleeve. "We can't just  _cling_ to each other and shut our eyes to the world and hope that everything turns out okay! That's not enough, anymore!"

Another miserable tear fell down Alice's cheek as she raised her eyebrows in desperation, "When did  _I_ stop being enough for you, FP?"

He grabbed her by the shoulders gently though making a point as he looked into her eyes, trying his hardest to make her see what he believed to be the truth. " _Hell,_ Alice, you'll  _always_ be enough for me! That's the damn problem! We're not kids anymore, we're all  _alone_ out here in the world!"

"What?" She whispered, wondering just what exactly he was saying and why things were always so doom and gloom with him. "As long as we have each other, how could we  _possibly_ be -"

He cut her off before she could finish, the pain flashing on his face loud and clear. "This is my  _life_ now, Alice! This is the only way that I can  _survive!_ I  _can't_ drag you down with me, if you end up getting hurt, I won't be able to  _live_ with myself!" There is was - the truth. Finally.

Alice tried to reassure him by taking a shaky breath and reaching up to touch his cheek, "FP, I am  _here._ I am  _with_ you. I'm along for the ride, I don't  _care_ if it's dangerous, all I care about is  _you!"_

FP took her hand and removed it from his face carelessly, taking a step away from her. The other shoe was about to drop, Alice could feel it in the air. "Well, I can't  _do_ that anymore! I can't be the one who puts you  _directly_ in the face of danger, I  _can't._ This will never work, Alice, you  _have_ to see that! How can we  _possibly_ pretend that everything is fine while we're both struggling to  _survive?"_

"So,  _what,_ then?" She couldn't understand what he was trying to say. She attempted to continue as the tears soaked her face just as the cold rain did. "You just don't  _love_ me anymore?"

" _Alice -"_ FP shook his head at her with wide eyes that seemed frustrated, "I will  _never_ stop  _loving_ you! You just can't see what -"

"Well, what else  _matters,_ then,  _FP?"_

" _No,_ Alice. We can't do this anymore. I don't want you a part of this, I want you as far away from me as possible." FP deadpanned, the emotion was gone from his voice, he was telling her how it had to be.

"Well," Alice choked out, "that's not your decision to make."

FP shook his head in disbelief of her stubbornness. "Go home, Alice." He said definitively, as he turned and walked away from her. It took Alice a few moments to get her thoughts together, but she didn't go  _home,_ as he'd suggested. Her home was FP Jones, and  _he_ had left her standing alone in the pouring rain. He knew that his statement would hurt her, because he knew that home was  _him._ Alice had no other home.

Their fight had been epic and a long time coming, but the definitive words had not been spoken - the words that would have brought an end to whatever it was that they thought they were doing together. Which is why, after the Spring Fling, FP and Alice were in a weird place - no man's land. Whatever the case was, it was apparent to the both of them that if they were to break up, it certainly wouldn't be because they no longer had feelings for each other. If anything, they had  _too many_ feelings for each other. Alice Smith and FP Jones would likely never stop loving each other, their affection was written in the stars.

But, FP knew that he couldn't continue to lead her down this dark path. So, he did what he had always been ever so good at and pushed her away, hoping that it would make their inevitable separation easier on the both of them. Of course, Alice didn't buy any of his bullshit for a moment, but the tensions then lead to weeks of endless fights and bitter arguments that all lead up to that moment after the dance when the fight had gotten out of hand. In the end, whenever anybody asked what exactly had happened between them, FP would simply but bitterly state that their relationship had ended due to  _irreconcilable differences._

The fight in the parking lot of the Whyte Wyrm had left Alice standing alone in the dark with the rain of the evening mixing with the tears on her cheeks, and neither her nor FP knew where exactly they stood with each other. They hadn't  _broken up,_ per se, but they weren't exactly doing  _well._ They were both at a crossroads, and while there were many factors involved, they both knew what they really wanted. They wanted each other, that was the bottom line. But, when danger and pride and money and logical thinking came into play, that wasn't enough to save them.

They hadn't spoken since that fight, not even over the phone. And, of course, they were now on spring break, so not even school could force them together. FP's talents were selective, and being avoidant was certainly one of them. But, he'd forgotten just how persistent Alice Smith could be when it came to getting what she wanted. And, at the moment, what she wanted was to find out what the hell was happening and how she could fix it so that things could just go back to the way that they were when everything was good.

She didn't want their relationship to end, it was likely the only real thing she had in her life. And she was no idiot, she knew that she meant the world to FP, just as he did to her. if the two of them could only sort out whatever issues they had and learn to communicate, they would be far better off. Unfortunately, that was something that they'd never been particularly good at when it came to each other.

But, by the following Thursday evening, Alice couldn't take it any longer. He father had gone away for the weekend, working whatever kind of shady job he had taken on that Alice refused to even ask about. She'd learned the hard way never to ask. Which mean that she had an empty house to work with for the next few days. Whenever that was the case, it always meant the same thing - a party. She'd done this many times, and she'd usually never been caught. The times that she  _had_ been caught, of course, there had been hell to pay at the harsh, drunken hand of her father, but she'd always thought that it had been worth it. On the Southside, the kids have to learn how to take advantage of every opportunity to provide themselves with a little piece of pleasure, or their lives might completely cave in to the darkness.

Alice had busied herself by cleaning up their small house by the forest for the better part of the day, but when the evening began to present itself, she couldn't procrastinate any longer. Not seeing or speaking to FP was taking its toll on her, she needed to reach out and clear the air. And she knew damn well that he wasn't about to take it upon himself to do so. Within ten minutes, she found herself walking through the door of Pop's, her presence alerting itself through the telltale jingle of the bells on the door.

Since their fight that left so many open-ended questions hanging in the air, Alice knew that FP had been avoiding their usual Serpent territories in order to prevent a confrontation, so she knew she'd have to get him at a time when she could have the upper hand, and that meant Pop's. Luckily, she still knew his work schedule like the back of her hand. She was happy to see him behind the counter. Not only was she glad to see his face, as if simply laying eyes on him could take away any darkness that had settled upon her. But, she was also happy that he was trapped there and that she wouldn't have to chase him all over the diner simply to have a conversation. Lord knows FP Jones could avoid confrontation like the plague when he wanted to.

He hadn't looked up upon hearing the bells, and appeared to be rather taken by surprise when Alice tentatively rested her hands on the counter across from him and spoke his name, "FP?" She began, feeling strangely nervous. She was at a complete loss, she had no idea where she stood with him, or him with her. Were they together? Were they broken up? Whatever it was, they were certainly on the verge of something, and that terrified the both of them.

"Alice?" She could tell immediately upon hearing the tone of voice that he'd used to answer her that this may not be the most enjoyable of encounters for her. His guard was up so high that she could practically  _see_ it. She felt timid, like she was talking to him for the very first time. They'd been together for months now, it shouldn't be like this. It had never been like this before.

"Um," she tried to begin, hoping that her nerves wouldn't get the better of her. She attempted to hold her head high as she adjusted her leather jacket. Alice Smith believed that she only showed what she wanted others to see. Unbeknownst to her, FP Jones could always see through whatever mask she tried to wear, "I'm having a party tomorrow night, I was hoping you'll come by?"

FP listened as she spoke but continued to wipe down an already spotless plate, simply to avoid having to meet her alluring blue eyes. He couldn't let himself give in to what he really wanted, not if he was going to protect her. Why couldn't she see that they were better off apart? She just had to make things difficult. He knew that a rejection was the only possible outcome on his part, but he also knew that it would cut her deeply. "My dad's out of town," she continued to explain, "I thought maybe you'd want to come check it out?"

They both understood the shift in their relationship, even if they couldn't label it. Here stood Alice, across from him at Pop's- a place that had always been comfortable - fidgeting nervously as she invited him to a party as if she was asking him out for the very first time. He hated that he was doing this to her, but he knew that it was inevitable. She looked at him with expectant eyes that always seemed more innocent than he knew her to be and he nearly gave in. He paused ever so briefly, about to tell her that of course he would be there, he wouldn't miss it for the world, before steeling himself. "I'm probably working, Alice." He said coldly, averting his eyes again. "Sorry." He added half-heartedly, and suddenly it all became clear. They really  _had_ broken up. They were finished, not a part of each other's lives anymore. Marsha had been confused before and knew that it was a possibility, but hoped with every ounce of her being that they were just fighting. They weren't over, it was just a reversible fight. Unfortunately, she now realized just how wrong she had been.

She felt hot tears stinging her eyes as she glared at the boy she loved, "Really?" She questioned, her voice wavering with everything from anger to confusion to utter desperation. "So, this is just  _it_ then, FP?"

Now, he finally looked at her. And what he saw nearly brought him to his knees. The fear in her eyes combined with the sadness that he was clearly evoking was something that he never wanted to see behind her blue eyes. Especially not because of  _him_. He had to remind himself that if he wanted to prevent further heartbreak, he had to stick to his guns. He had to do what he thought was necessary. "Alice," he sighed, and his voice cut like a knife through her chest. He sounded annoyed with her, as if he just wanted her out of his very sight, "we said everything we needed to say at the Wyrm."

Alice lowered her eyebrows in hostile confusion, " _Did_ we, FP? Because, I still have no  _idea_ why you're acting like this!"

"Maybe you should be asking  _yourself_ these questions,  _Alice!"_ FP raised his voice, finally showing more emotion that he had in a very long time. "Or, better yet, ask your old friend  _Hal_ _Cooper_."

" _Hal?"_  Alice glared at him, "What the hell does  _he_ have to do with any of this?"

"I'm not an idiot! Okay, I  _know_ he's into you and I know that  _you_ know he's into you!"

"So  _what_  if he's into me, FP?" Alice's voice rang out through the luckily near-empty diner.

" _So what?"_  FP reiterated sarcastically, " _So_ , Hermione told me that you'd said that some days, you didn't think he was so bad. That you think he could provide you with a kind of life that you really might  _want_." Alice was speechless, how could Hermione do that to her? "Now, I know she's turned into a real bitch and that she lies about everything nowadays. But this is plausible, so look me in the eyes and tell me that you never said that." His voice was rather degrading, he knew he was right and that she had absolutely nothing to defend herself with.

"FP," She struggled to find the right words, "I -"

"Yeah, save it, Alice."

She could never actually be happy with someone like Hal, she knew that. Not as long as FP Jones was alive and kicking. "Have fun at your party." He said bitterly before leaving the counter and heading into the kitchen behind closed doors, leaving her to hate herself for letting a miserable tear fall down her cheek. Deep down, she knew that FP must have been putting on a brave face and acting so hurtfully simply to disguise his own pain over the matter, but it still hurt. He made it sound like their entire relationship was nothing to him, like it meant so little that he was already over it all merely days later. Alice didn't even have the energy not the ability to pretend that she was just fine - as Alice Smith always was - as she turned and walked out of Pop's.

FP knew that he shouldn't have looked back, he knew that it would only be painful, but he couldn't help it. It was like watching an accident unfold before his eyes, it was terrible to watch, but he couldn't look away. The girl that he loved had wiped a tear from her eyes before pushing open the door of the diner and leaving his sight. And just like that, the love of his life had slipped right through his fingers.

> _"Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind."_

When Alice Smith's father went out of town, all of Riverdale knew about it. By nine o'clock Friday night, every teenager in town found themselves on the Southside at the Smith residence. Her small house couldn't quite handle that, but this wasn't anyone's first time partying there - they knew how to utilize her front yard just as well as her living room. Alice had started drinking much earlier. Her party couldn't have come at a better time, she desperately needed an excuse to forget about her miserable life for a night, and if that had to happen by downing shot after shot of stolen tequila and taking hit after hit off of cheap cigarettes, so be it.

When Hermione Gomez had the _audacity_ to show up at her front door, arm in arm with her new  _best friend_ Penelope Blossom, Alice nearly made a scene before deciding that it was much too early in the night to do so. Later,  _absolutely_ , but not quite yet. Her and Hermione had very recently had their grand falling out right in the middle of the busy halls of Riverdale High in the middle of the school day, and it was nothing but daunting to show up at Alice's party after that. Especially if it was just to rub her newfound friendship with Penelope- Alice's self-acclaimed arch rival - in her face. Usually, during drama like this, Alice would find a quiet place with FP where the two of them could relax in each other's company. Whenever they were together, the rest of the world faded away, taking all of its problems with it. But, that was no longer an option.

Hal Cooper showed up with his snobby rich kid friends not long after, and Alice was thankful that she was already pretty drunk. She'd truthfully never been able to stand that self-righteous boy, she had no use for pretentious people like him. But, he'd always had such an interest in her that she found herself involuntarily in his company often as he would seek her out. Having multiple drinks in her for tonight made that much easier. Alice had hoped that once he started going out with Penelope, he would forget about her and leave her alone, but that relationship only lasted a few months before Hal was back at Alice's feet.

He wasn't her type. He was boring to her and hell, she wasn't even attracted to him. Besides, him and FP despised each other, which meant that by default, she was prone to despise him as well. Hal constantly ran his mouth about FP and his supposedly trashier lifestyle simply because Hal was born with riches while FP was born with an alcoholic father and destined for less than greatness. When FP made football captain instead of Hal, their tension only rose. Alice sometimes wondered if Hal only showed interest in her to get on FP's nerves. Even if that was the case, it certainly worked.

But, tonight, Alice was different. She was miserable but hiding it by widening her smile after every drink. She was tired of observing the different couples take advantage of her closet space and lockable doors as they got busy expressing their young love for each other. She was tired of missing the one person she truly loved. She was tired of not feeling his comfortably casual grip around her waist as they enjoyed the night together. She was tired of feeling like the world was falling apart around her.

And then Hal was beside her. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting on the couch alone, she only knew that she  _wasn't_ alone any longer. He didn't try anything, mainly because he knew that Alice wouldn't stand for it, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to put the option out there. He would never understand Alice the way that her real friends did. He began by talking about his family and his accomplishments, because he knew that his money could usually win over even the most resistant of girls. Had he known that Alice would never fall for this, he probably wouldn't have tried at all.

But, something had shifted. Suddenly, Alice began to wonder - what if she  _did_ fall for it? Based on what Hal was saying, he was _loaded_ , he was from the Northside, he came from a stable family, his reputation was nothing if not spotless, and just like that, a different kind of spark ignited inside of her. Longing. Not for a person, certainly not for the person who she was speaking with, but for a way of life. To one day be able to walk down the Northside streets of Riverdale and have everyone bow their heads in respect as she made her way to her large house where her perfect family was waiting for her.

It was something that she never knew she wanted before. Quite frankly, she wasn't sure she  _did_  want it. But, before now, all she'd ever wanted with respect to her future was FP Jones. If they were together, it wouldn't matter who she was or where she lived or what she did or even what the stuck up Northsiders thought of her. Without him though, what did she have? She had nothing to shield herself with. So long as she no longer had him, she would need something else. She would need stability, she would need to feel respected and maybe even feared. She wanted to be something that everyone desired. None of that would have mattered so long as she was with FP, but he was gone from her reach.

Now, here was Hal Cooper. He was someone who could offer other things. He could offer her that perfect life that she suddenly had begun to dream of. What he lacked in passion or adventure, he could make up for with cold, hard, cash and a respected family name. So, she indulged him.

 

FP arrived at Alice's party a little before midnight. He wasn't going to show up. He'd gone to the Wyrm beforehand and sat on a barstool pondering what he would do for hours. He didn't touch a single drop of alcohol, though. He enjoyed the odd beer or shot of whiskey here and there just as much as the next teenage boy, but he limited himself to drinking only to fuel a fun time. After what he continuously watched his father go through, he promised himself that he'd never begin to rely on drink when he was depressed or conflicted. He wasn't about to follow in his father's footsteps.

And tonight, he was far from happy. He hated himself for coldly rejecting Alice the way that he did at Pop's and then proceeding to confirm their official breakup. It took him some time, but eventually, he really did come to his senses and realize that it wasn't what he wanted, not at all. He wanted  _her_ , he needed  _her_ , and he would be damned if he let her walk out of his life for good. But, when he came through the door of her house and glanced around the busy party only to see her seated on the couch next to Hal Cooper, of all people, having what seemed like a  _riveting_ conversation, his blood nearly boiled.

FP always thought that Alice deserved much better than him, but he certainly was more than _Hal_. He had been jealous whenever the preppy boy showed interest in his girlfriend, but he had never been truly worried because he knew that Alice was not only loyal to him, but smart enough to know that Hal was far from her type. He could never satisfy her in the ways that an intelligent, adventurous young woman like her needed. He  _thought_  that was clear. The other Serpents were at the back of the room, and FP knew that he could have joined them if he wanted to, but he also knew that he would have a shitty time at Alice's party while she flirted with Hal Cooper in the living room. So, he turned and walked out the door that he had came from. This was the exact moment that Alice just so happened to be getting up to get another drink – God knows she would need it if she wanted to convince herself that Hal Cooper was the way to go – and all she managed to see was the back of FP's familiar Serpent jacket walking out her front door.

She immediately knew exactly what had happened, and she clenched her fists together in frustration. Were the two of them destined for poor timing? If so, maybe it truly was best that they quite while they were ahead.

 

The night came to an end when the last of the partygoers finally left Alice's property at around two thirty in the morning save for a few bodies here and there who had passed out on various pieces of her furniture. Other than those harmlessly unconscious sleepers,  _one_ person remained at Alice's house. Mustang was an older Serpent who was always causing greasy trouble. Alice had told the other Serpents specifically not to let him come to her party, knowing full well that he always seemed to bring danger wherever he went, and him and Alice weren't exactly on good terms thanks to her fiery fearlessness and his unpredictable temper.

But, when he'd shown up halfway through the night, Alice had been too drunk and busy to even worry about his presence in her broken home. Now that he was the only one who remained and she wanted nothing more than to bury her head in a pillow, Alice grew uneasy.

Serpents were usually guilty of passing around the odd bag of weed, but not many dealt with hard drugs. They usually left that kind of fun to the Ghoulies. Mustang was one of the few who dealt just about anything that he could get his grubby fingers on, which also meant that unfortunately, he wasn't exactly a safe person to know. Alice attempted to persuade him to leave, but he began to grow threatening as he insisted that she allow him to stay the night.

She assumed that he was fidgeting with the knife that he always carried with himself in his jacket pocket, and she had to admit that it scared her. Not knowing what else to do, she locked herself in the bathroom, grabbing the phone on the way and dialing the number for the Whyte Wyrm, hoping and praying that FP was there.

" _Wyrm."_ The gruff voice on the other end of the line answered, and Alice took in a shaky breath before beginning.

"Hog Eye?" She knew that she sounded frantic, but quite frankly, she  _was._ "Is FP there?"

Back at the Wyrm, Hog Eye simply grunted and held the receiver out to the teenage boy who was broodily sitting in the barstool across from him. "Your girl." He said, as FP cautiously grabbed for the phone.

"Alice?" FP spoke cautiously, suddenly getting a bad feeling and hoping that she wasn't in any danger.

"FP?" She sounded not only relieved, but surprised. She hadn't just been worrying that she wouldn't be able to get ahold of FP, but she worried that he wouldn't take the phone knowing that she was on the other line. "FP, I don't know what to do..." She spoke quickly, the frantic fear in her still not quite sober voice reaching FP's concerning ear, "... I didn't know who else to call."

"Alice..." FP tried to calm her down enough to get the necessary information out of her. Something was clearly very wrong, "... Alice, slow down. What's wrong?"

"Mustang is still here and he won't leave, and he's really starting to scare me, FP." Her voice was still shaky and a going a mile a minute, the mixture of the alcohol as well as the precarious situation she was in combined made for that. "He's the only one here, I don't know how to get him to leave but I'm... I'm scared, FP."

She was panicking with good reason, FP knew Mustang to be one of the Serpents that you didn't want to be hanging around alone. Especially if you were an attractive teenage girl who was still a little bit inebriated. "I'll be right there." He finished with a protective intensity to his voice before tossing the phone back at Hog Eye and setting out.

 

FP was back at Alice's house within minutes. He didn't trust Mustang for a second, and he knew that Alice was probably terrified. She'd always been known as a girl who could hold her own, but FP knew that she was also a girl who was hit by her own father. She needed him, even if she refused to say it out loud.

When he came through the door for the second time that night, he was unsettled to see Alice standing as far away from Mustang as she possibly could get as he was clearly ransacking her kitchen for any kind of valuable that she might have lying around. FP wondered why Alice wasn't at least giving him hell from afar until he himself noticed the knife in Mustang's hand and understood her silent compliance.

FP's gaze landed on Alice's fearfully wide eyes, but the sight of him alone reassured her as FP grabbed Mustang by the jacket and forcefully removed him from the house with ease. Alice followed them out the door in hopes of thanking FP for coming to her rescue, but it all happened too quickly. FP had shoved Mustang into his truck and just like that, they were both gone.

Though, they were both left thinking - certainly  _Hal Cooper_ could never accomplish what FP easily just had.

And that was the very last time that FP Jones and Alice Smith had seen each other before she turned her cheek on the Southside, hidden away her Serpent jacket, and took the arm of Hal Cooper himself. Trading one life for another

> _"Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind. Everything is dust in the wind."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas.


	7. Cigarette Daydreams

> _"Did you stand there all alone?"_

Alice Smith had a master plan.

The very floor of her world had been ripped out from under her when she lost FP Jones. There was nothing left that she had to lose, so she decided that she was about to begin gaining. Even if it meant that she would have to settle for her second-rate dreams. For months upon months, the only dreams that she had for her future involved a certain young Serpent, so long as he was there with her, she knew that she would be happy. And that was enough for her.

Now, that was no longer the case. FP was gone, he had let Alice walk out of his life and both were determined not to look back. He had told he that he would never stop loving her, but that only made things worse. Mainly because she knew that she would never stop loving him either. Which was why her only option was to mask it all. It was time for a change.

There was only one thing that Alice wanted now, and that was for people to stop looking at her as if she was nothing more than Southside scum. She wanted a proper image, she wanted to feel respected. And she planned to get there. It all came down to one person - Harold Cooper. He was interested in her, that was no secret, and he had plenty to offer even if none of those things really had to do with the boy himself.

She was barely attracted to him, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that he came from a family that had a spotless record. He came from  _money,_ but that was just a bonus. Alice would take him just for the reputation alone. And, she did. As far as looks, personality, and intelligence went, Hal was nothing to write home about. Definitely not he type at all. He would never be able to satisfy her in any way at all, he couldn't keep her happy, and Alice knew that she likely wouldn't feel fulfilled for the rest of her life. But, he offered stability. To hell with the rest.

Step one, was to stop dodging his persistent requests to take her out on a date. Step two, was to learn to control herself past the point of no return. She would sit there and listen as he went on and on about the things that Alice had absolutely  _no_ interest in. The things that she couldn't even begin to relate to. But, that was just what she had to do. She would fake a smile and laugh in all the right places, attempting to make eyes at him in order to reassure him that she was interested. She faked her way into a relationship.

And it was a complete bore. Hal Cooper was a snooze in every sense. So completely unlike what Alice was used to - unlike what Alice truly  _needed_ in her life. She knew that, but she didn't exactly have many options anymore. She needed to escape that trashy life that she was supposedly destined to live, and if that meant a sham of a relationship with Hal, then so be it. It was a small price to pay for the future prosperity.

In her mind, Alice had her plan all figured out - she knew exactly what she was doing. In reality, she was lost and stumbling through the dark, just as she had been before Hermione and Fred and FP had tied up her loose ends. She hadn't realize that the support among the three of them would prove to be temporary. Now, she was desperately searching to grab on to something,  _anything,_ that she could use to stabilize herself after that life had crumbled around her. All the while, her heart continuously ached. For the best friend that she had lost to the wealthier world. And for the boy who had wronged her. A boy who she had wronged. She had initially hoped that time would begin to heal her fresh wounds, but if anything, the passing days only made her miss her  _true_ life even more than she'd thought possible.

> _"I cannot explain what's going down."_

It was their senior year, and everything  _appeared_ to be coming together as graduation grew nearer and nearer. In reality, of course, everything had successfully fallen apart for a few choice students of Riverdale High, and they were now frantically scrambling to piece together any kind of life that they could live. Hermione Gomez had left Fred Andrews for Hiram Lodge, which sent Fred running right into the arms of Mary Maiden. FP Jones and Alice Smith had broken up, which practically forced Alice into Hal Cooper's life as FP simply did his best for the sake of the Serpents. They were his whole life, now.

He'd gotten in pretty deep with the gang, being their newly appointed King and all, and the odd jobs that he was being offered only grew more dangerous and numerous. But, he didn't have any other choice. He couldn't live off of minimum wage anymore, not if he only had a doublewide to go home to. FP had been full of potential. For the previous three years of high school, he'd been the star football player. The title of captain of the varsity football team was nothing if not handy to have under his belt, but he had to make a decision. He wasn't a kid anymore, he couldn't just play sports because he  _liked_ doing so.

Of course, it could have gotten him scholarships, and scholarships could have gotten him to school, but he didn't care anymore. All he cared about was getting  _out._ He didn't want to be in Riverdale anymore, didn't want to be confined to the Southside, didn't want to wake up each morning and live the same live day after day. He had a feeling that he had nowhere else to go and, in the end, he would return, as this was truthfully where he belonged. But - he couldn't tell if it was due to his breakup with Alice or not - currently, he just wanted to get out of town for a while.

When it came down to it, the Serpents won out over the football team for FP Jones. He dropped himself from the team, turned in his apron at Pop's, and by the end of the semester, he was barely even showing up to school. He'd always been a bad boy, that was no secret. But now, FP truly was seemingly living up to the stereotypical Southside trash agenda. Seeing this, Alice attempted to remind herself that it was a  _good_ thing that she'd known to cut bait when she still had the chance to. But, all in all she never could quite convince herself of that.

Speaking of which, the next step in Alice's big plan was to get the hell off of the Southside. That was a necessity. She could tell that her father was about to kick her out of the house for good any day now, and she would need somewhere to go. She didn't want to spend any more nights stowing away in empty trailers or crashing on the couch of the Wyrm, she needed somewhere  _permanent._ Besides, she didn't know how much longer she would be able to stomach his vile abuse that was constantly directed at her in whichever sense he felt like. This part of her plan was easier said than done, as she had nowhere else to go now that she no longer had the support of the Serpents.

She had become the turncoat who had left their king for his nemesis, she was public enemy number one and absolutely no longer welcomed onto their territory thanks to the fact that she was attempting to pretend she'd never been a part of them in the first place. Because Alice had given up her boyfriend and all of her real friends for a cushy life with Hal Cooper, she no longer had much reason to constantly be out of the house, leaving her father with plenty of opportunities to cause her grief whenever he so pleased. And Alice Smith was sick and tired of constantly being considered  _less_ than by everyone else simply because she came from the Southside. Knowing this, the first thing that she did was abandon the Serpents.

She stopped wearing it, but never gave up the jacket. It would always mean something greater than words could express to her. That jacket represented everything that was  _right_ in her crumby life. The Serpents for Alice was about her and FP - the love of her life. Funny how weeks could go by and she still knew without a doubt that he _was_ the love of her life. Funny, or just plain dangerous. FP's noticeable absence at school should have made their transition from lovers to strangers easier for  Alice, but it really only made her worry about him. That was something that she was used to, it was what had torn them apart in the first place. Alice couldn't stand knowing that he was out there putting himself in danger while she couldn't even be there to walk through the fire with him - not that he would have let her do so.

After she'd stopped going to the Whyte Wyrm and hanging around the Serpents, Alice knew what she had to do in order to dissociate herself from them farther. To persuade everyone else to forget that she'd ever pledged allegiance to them in the first place. Which is why Riverdale High's Blue and Gold newspaper begun to transform from columns that discussed events around the school and town to continuously attacking the Southside - specifically the Serpents, even if she did still live on the wrong side of those bloody train tracks. Alice blamed them for everything that was wrong with not only their high school, but the town of Riverdale itself.

It was hypocritical, and everyone could see that, but it didn't take long for them to successfully forget where Alice went home to. They could forget that she wasn't from the right side of the tracks so long as she continued to hound the people who were  _just_ like her. She mainly did it all for the sake of her image, but there was an underlying bitterness to her words that had everything to do with the Serpent King himself. He had hurt her, and now she intended to hurt him back. Though their breakup was mutually detrimental and they both blamed the other for turning their backs, they were both just two kids hurting from the loss of each other. But, by attacking the Serpents and the Southside in the school paper, Alice was practically screaming at him. It was the only way that she could do so, now that they hardly ever even saw each other.

FP had never been one for drama, so he let her do what she needed to do and say what she needed to say. He didn't get to have an opinion about her anymore, that was what he'd convinced himself of. The students of Riverdale High did their best to go about their lives as they prepared for homecoming and graduation, but nobody was truly happy. Hermione had stars in her eyes as Hiram promised her a love filled with diamonds but no true love. Fred pulled Mary closer every time he heard Hermione rave about Chris only to make himself feel better about it and less  _alone,_ even if poor Mary was merely a rebound that Fred had taken too far. FP and Alice were still very much in love with each other, but Alice was with Hal and FP had recently struck up a relationship with resident Southsider and familiar Serpent, Gladys.

> _"I can see you standing next to me, in and out somewhere else right now."_

Alice and FP had been broken up for three months before she found out about the baby. She'd been so busy wooing Hal Cooper and working her way out of the Southside all the while worrying about whether or not she even had the credits to graduate in a couple weeks that she hadn't even realized that she was late by God only knew how long. Obviously since her and FP had last been together, since her and Hal had yet to be intimate.

The realization actually hit her in the middle of the night, after she'd been woken up by a thunderstorm and couldn't put the thought out of her mind. It was two in the morning when she threw her thick hair into a loose ponytail and drove down to the gas station to buy a cheap pregnancy test. Not wanting to deal with all this in the tiny bathroom of a 7-11, she soon found herself at the only other place in town that was open all day and all night.

Once at Pop's she was glad to see that FP was not working. He'd given his two weeks notice a week and a half ago, and until she was  _sure_ that his name was no longer on the staff list, Alice had been avoiding the place like the plague. But, the walls of Pop's Diner had once been a safehaven for her and FP and Fred and Hermione. It was only suitable for her to deal with this right here where she felt vaguely safe.

When that dreaded test came back positive, Alice thanked  _God_ that she'd gotten lucky and FP wasn't working. It would have thrown her off even more had she found out about his baby with him mere yards away from her, wiping down a booth. She had no idea what any of it even meant, yet. Alice had spent about half an hour in the bathroom. After seeing those test results, her knees gave out from under her and she fell to the cool tile floor, clutching her chest and sobbing.

It was all perfectly predictable, she wasn't even  _surprised._ Getting pregnant in high school was something that trashy girls raised on the wrong side of the tracks simply had happen to them. Girls whose mothers had run out on them years ago, girls who spent their time hanging around scummy people, having too much fun, girls like  _her._ The timing was what had thrown her. She was so prepared to turn her back on that life, to become someone respectable, and now fate wasn't going to allow that to happen for her. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to escape the sleazy life that she was destined for. So, now here she was - pregnant at seventeen and not on good terms with her baby daddy.

After her tears had run out, Alice used the single-plied toilet paper to dry her cheeks and stand to look at her blotchy face in the mirror. She thought that she couldn't possibly have any more tears left in her body, but upon making eye contact with herself and being reminded of the harsh reality of her current life, her eyes quickly became wet once more.

Nonetheless, enough was enough. She couldn't just sit there and cry in the bathroom while she allowed the world to fall apart around her. She had to go home and continue to pretend that she was living the life that everyone else desired. She couldn't allow herself to be weak, now for the sake of the baby as well as her newfound reputation. So, Alice frowned at herself once more before tossing the strap of her purse over her shoulder and forcefully pushing her way out of the diner.

But, because the universe seemed to have it out for her, of  _course_ there had just been a shift change. FP Jones now stood behind the counter, staring questioningly at the mess that was Alice Smith. What she was doing in the bathroom of Pop's in the middle of the night wasn't the question that he wanted to ask. All the desired to know what why she looked like she had just drawn her very last straw. She was as broken as she would ever be, her facade had cracked and shattered if only for that one night.

Alice didn't even pause upon making eye contact with FP. In fact, she didn't let herself think about FP Jones until she was back in her little white car and forced to decide just where it was that she was going to go. That was when it hit her - the father of her child was inside that diner, mere  _feet_ away from her.

> _"You sigh, look away. I can see it clear as day."_

What could she possibly do, though? If she was being truly honest with herself, she wanted  _nothing_ more than to run back into Pop's, fling herself into FP's strong arms, and pour her heart out. She wanted to tell him that she truly thought that they'd made a mistake letting each other go, that they were destined to be together and that she was sorry for walking away from him. Instead, she sat in her car and sobbed by herself as the night continued to unfold without her.

> _"Close your eyes, so afraid. Hide behind that baby face."_

 

Meanwhile, FP didn't know what to do, he didn't know what was  _wrong._ He knew that something obviously wasn't right simply based on the fact that Alice found herself at Pop's at three in the morning, sobbing to herself in the washroom. He wondered if something was wrong at home. Maybe her father was on one of his benders and Alice was getting the worst of it. But, if that were the case, FP assumed that she'd likely just go stay at Hal's. Based on what he'd heard around town, Alice had practically been living with the Cooper boy ever since they started going out.

So, what did that mean? Did that mean that  _Hal_ was the problem? Because, Alice certainly hadn't gone to  _him_ for help with whatever it was that she was currently facing. FP didn't want to dwell on it, he knew that it was none of his business anymore and he was far too prideful to let himself still be so admittedly wrapped around Alice Smith's finger. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. If Hal was the cause of her tears, FP knew that he would have a hard time restraining himself from walking right up to that snotty rich boy and taking out all of his pent-up anger on him. Whatever the case may be, the reason behind Alice's tears remained at the forefront of FP"s mind throughout his entire shift.

When he went to clean the washroom, he may have gotten his answer.

FP had no idea if the positive pregnancy test that had clearly missed the garbage can was Alice's or not, but it very well could have been. There hadn't been many customers in during FP's shift, but Alice hadn't been the only one. And she hadn't been the only one to use the washroom, either. That left a hauntingly open-ended question to linger in FP's mind.

It would make  _sense._ Alice seemed overly distraught when she'd ran out of the washroom earlier, her face had been soaked with tears and he could tell just by the way that her shoulders shook that she wasn't quite breathing normally. That was quite likely exactly how a teenage girl would react upon finding out that she was pregnant, was it not? He couldn't say, exactly. And he didn't like to jump to conclusions, especially when it very well could have been any other customer that had been in that night using the washroom.

Whatever the case may be, it wasn't as simply as whether or not Alice  _was_ pregnant. If she was pregnant, what the hell was she going to do about it? How was she going to protect her carefully reconstructed image of being the perfect girl who had escaped the  _cruelties_ of the Southside and the Serpents and lived to tell the tale? Who had once been nothing more than a misguided bad girl who was now ready to embrace a pastel world of perfection. A teenage pregnancy wouldn't be helpful to her. In fact, it might destroy her. But, that wasn't the only thing that FP was worried about. He now let himself wonder, if she  _was_ pregnant, who the hell was the father?

A sickening feeling began to linger in FP's stomach as he couldn't help but wonder if it could possibly have been _his_. He didn't know if Alice had slept with Hal yet, nor anyone else. All he knew was that  _he_  certainly had slept with Alice. A headache came on when he realized that they also hadn't exactly been _careful_ one hundred percent of the time. But, he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't even know if Alice  _was_  pregnant, let alone if the baby was his were that true. He wasn't one for gossip, so he already knew that he would let this piece of information sit with himself and not tell a soul. He didn't know if that made things worse or better.

As much as he and Alice were _far_ from on good terms following their breakup, FP wasn't about to use this as leverage against her. For one, he didn't even know if it was true or not, and for two, he just would never to that to her. He would never  _want_  to do that to her, he wouldn't want to use something that he knew she was sensitive about against her. That wasn't who he was. Maybe some people, but not him. Because, bad blood or not, she was still the love of his life, and the bottom line was that he would still do anything to protect her. If that meant keeping this detrimental secret, he could do that.

Nonetheless, he felt sick to his stomach. If Alice was pregnant with _Hal's_  child, he likely wouldn't let her keep it. It would screw with both of their images, and Hal Cooper couldn't have that. But, if Alice was pregnant with  _someone else's_  child, he didn't even know what Hal would do to her. He would probably turn her out back onto the streets, and God only knows where she would go from there. Even FP knew that Alice's father barely lets Alice sleep at home on a  _good_ day, if she was  _pregnant,_ he would probably spit on her or worse. Whatever the case may be, she would no longer have a anything resembling a home.

But, there was one more option to consider. What if Alice was pregnant with  _his_  child. Based on Hal's initial disdain for FP, he knew that he wouldn't stand for it. But, things would be different if FP was the father. He knew how to step up when people needed him. There was no doubt in his teenage mind that he would do everything in his power to provide safety and family to Alice Smith and their baby. It would change everything. There would no longer be a juvenile grudge between him and Alice, she could come home to him, and they would start the family that they'd always talked about having.

Yes, it was clearly earlier than they'd hoped and certainly not something that they would have planned, but it wasn't the end of the world. Just the opposite. It would be hard, they would struggle, nothing would be easy, but their home would be filled with nothing but love for the child, for each other, for the family that they'd created together just as they'd dreamed. But, before any of that could happen, Alice would need to confirm the fact that she was pregnant. Not only that, but she would need to confess to FP that it was his child in the first place.

When another week had passed and that never happened, FP came to the conclusion that either the baby wasn't his, or Alice wasn't pregnant at all. He trusted Alice, he knew that she would go to him if that were the case. She wouldn't keep him in the dark about something so serious. In fact, he'd nearly forgotten about the mystery of the positive pregnancy test although it lingered in the back of his mind as his own life carried on.

> _"You can drive all night, looking for the answers in the pouring rain."_

 

FP and Gladys were on the verge of living together. FP had made a deal with an older Serpent and acquired his father's trailer at Sunnyside for good, paperwork and all, where he could finally have a home to call his own. Before his father had been thrown in jail, he'd kicked FP out over a year ago, and he was growing extremely tired of couch-surfing and spending his nights God only knows where. This was a nice change, even if he was going to be working towards paying off the trailer for years to come.

Gladys' homelife was nothing to brag about. Her father had never been in the picture, she was the youngest of five siblings all sharing different fathers, and her mother was never the best at handling her finances. That left all the kids to fend for themselves, and Gladys was on the bottom of the food chain. She needed a home just as badly as FP did. It only made sense for them to find each other and attempt to find some kind of stability with each other even if it were only for the fact that they really didn't have any other options.

Gladys was like FP in the way that she shared all his worst qualities, but she wore them rather proudly. She was who FP was when he lacked the brightness in his life that was Alice Smith. And together, FP ad Gladys fell hand in hand into a pit of mutual darkness. Gladys was no idiot, she knew that her boyfriend's heart still remained with another, but she was hoping that time would fix that. She couldn't blame him for his feelings, but she wasn't going to turn away from him for that. She had nowhere else to go. That being said, neither did he. The convenience of their relationship was what sealed the deal. In reality, Gladys' presence in his life didn't spark much of anything in FP. He hated himself for that, he really did. Because he wanted to love her, he wanted to love her just as intensely and passionately as he loved Alice. But, that just wasn't possible.

So, FP and Gladys remained, as did Alice and Hal, Fred and Mary, and Hermione and Hiram. Living together, mapping out a future, but not in love. Much to their own frustration. They just couldn't seem to fall in love with each other. They all knew that eventually, a kind of love would be formed. A familiar love, a love that would come with time spent together and a bond that would grow, but they likely would never be  _in_  love. That didn't just happen. You  _fall_  in love, you don't decide to  _be_  in love.

> _"You want to find peace of mind."_

Nonetheless, life went on. Graduation was getting painfully close, and they were all panicking. Alice was pregnant and hiding it. FP was finding the crown of the Serpent king more suffocating than anything. Hermione was swimming deeper and deeper in shark-infested waters as she followed Hiram down his dark, corrupt, dangerous paths. And Fred was still very much madly in love with her, all the while dealing with his suddenly very ill father.

Hermione had no one she could talk to about the darkness that she was now living. All she wanted to do was confide in someone trustworthy like Alice or Fred, but she'd already lit those bridges up in flames. And of course, for Alice anyways, she had a floor of people around her at all times thanks to the new life that she had been introduced to, but she was alone. After finding out that she was with a child, there was a big decision to make. Did she give in and run back to what she truly wanted, or would she do what she thought was best for her child?

But, Alice was only seventeen years old. She wasn't exactly in any position to be making life decisions as it was. She knew the difference between following your heart and following your best interest, and she knew it well. Unfortunately, she didn't know which to choose. In this case, she thought that staying with Hal would be the best for her child.

He could provide them both with a safe, stable life. With money, with security, with a good name for her and her baby. He could give them everything that Alice thought she wanted. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to approach the subject with him. So, she didn't. Instead, she slept with him. She slept with him so that maybe she would never have to admit that the baby wasn't his. It was beyond devious and she knew that, perhaps that was why she silently cried throughout her first time with Hal Cooper and he assumed it was only because it was such an emotional moment for her. He was right, but not for the reasons that he dimwittedly believed.

She convinced herself that she had a plan, when in reality, Alice Smith was floundering. She planned to continue pretending that everything was fine for as long as she could. But, after graduation, she would likely start showing, and then that would be the end of her secret. She would tell Hal after they graduated, and everything would be okay. Hal would no what to do. Hal would protect her.

> _"Funny how it seems like yesterday. As I recall, you were looking out of place."_

For the time being, Alice's mask couldn't fade.

So, when the end of the school year finally rolled around and the graduation events began to take place, Alice could do nothing but participate with a smile. Hal Cooper's best friend - and Hermione Gomez's newfound love - Hiram Lodge was throwing the first grad party at his parent's mansion and the entire graduating class was expected to be in attendance. That included the kids like FP who rarely bothered to show up to class as well as the kids who would never miss even the most unnecessary of lectures. Graduation was a time to come together; after all, it was the end of their era.

So, that night, the mansion was filled to the brim with kids out looking for a good time. Alice had put on a brave face and showed up on Hal's arm, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong when really, she had a secret that was eating her alive as the. FP and Gladys were already there, sitting together on one of Hiram's many leather sofas, when Hal and his crew arrived.

FP tried to divert his attention, for the sake of both his girlfriend and his own feelings, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the scene that was Hal Cooper and his friends. Alice looked utterly out of place. FP knew better, he knew the real her, he knew that she didn't belong with that group. She looked like nothing more than a football player's arm candy, and that just wasn't _her._ But, there was nothing that he could do about that now, so instead, he tried to let himself just have a good night at an innocent high school kegger. He'd been so caught up with his own life on the Southside and the Serpents and where his next paycheck was coming from lately that he decided to allow himself at least a little bit of time to just finish being a kid. After he graduated, he could grow up, but for tonight, he was going to grow back down again.

> _"Gathered up your things and slipped away. No time at all, I followed you into the hall."_

Halfway through the night, FP began to remember that one early morning - or late night - at Pop's, when he'd found the pregnancy test and thus began the psychological torture that came with never truly knowing whether or not it was Alice's. He'd been in the kitchen with Fred and a couple other guys when Fred suddenly noticed Alice's rather timid presence in the room and offered her a drink.

The two of them may have grown apart after Hermione left him and Alice left FP, but Fred Andrews had never been the kind of guy who let his grudges get in the way of his friendships. FP turned around to see that, sure enough, Alice Smith stood in the doorway, looking almost vacant as she stared. For a split second, he caught a glimpse of the girl that he once knew as her eyes began to sparkle with reckless delight following Fred's offer.

But, that excitement soon faded quickly when Alice suddenly changed her mind and shook her head, taking a step backwards. "Um, no, actually." She said, chasing the idea from her young mind. "Not tonight, Fred." FP thought that her rejection was strange for her, it was uncharacteristic. For a moment, he wondered if it was because her spotless new image wouldn't take kindly to a little underage drinking, but even  _Hal_ liked to drink with the best of them, so that couldn't be it.

"Alice Smith turning down a drink?" Fred scoffed and took the drink that he'd offered her for himself. "Now I've seen everything."

Alice tried to force out a slight laugh at her old friend's teasing remarks, but that was all she could manage before she glanced towards FP, who held her gaze long enough to notice the strained sadness behind her eyes, before she turned away from them and left the room. FP looked to Fred, wondering if he too thought that Alice's behaviour was strange, but Fred's attention was already elsewhere as Miles McCoy excitedly brought another keg into the kitchen.

As FP wondered  _why_ exactly Alice would strangely not be drinking at a party, he remembered the whole possible pregnancy debacle. He'd never been given solid proof, but this certainly added to his suspicions. He hadn't seen much of her since that night at Pops - hell, she hadn't even tried to trash him around the school lately, come to think of it. Ever since that fateful night, Alice had seemed rather distant and out of it completely, as if she was simply going through the motions of school and couldn't put any real effort towards being her usual bitter, acidic self.

> _"Cigarette daydream, you were only seventeen."_

 

 

Meanwhile, Alice may not have had anything to drink yet, but the room was spinning. She needed air, she needed safety, she needed  _someone_. And instead of running outside for a breath of fresh air, she realized that she didn't want to be alone. She spent the next ten minutes going around Hiram's massive house in search of her boyfriend, intending to have him calm her down a bit. Not that he'd ever been good at that. She was hoping that tonight may be the night that he step-up for her. But, Hal was nowhere to be found. Had Alice known that he was _actually_ upstairs in a locked bedroom with Penelope Blossom, Hiram's party would have come to an end in a very different way. In fact, there would have been blood shed – Alice would have seen to that. Instead, she remained blissfully unaware as she assumed that her moronic boyfriend was just off with his friends. Nonetheless, she continued to search.

Pushing open the door to one of the mansions many spare rooms, Alice had expected to finally find Hal. Instead, she saw FP sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt nonchalantly. Upon her sudden arrival, they were both shocked to lock eyes with each other. Alice had no idea what FP was doing in there, but she didn't even think to ask. Because she was suddenly face to face with someone who was seemingly destined to be nothing more than a demon from her past, and she didn't know if she was ready for that. She knew that now as she looked into his eyes. He stood from the bed and lowered his eyebrows in surprise, "Alice?" He questioned, and she lingered in the doorway as tears now sprung to her eyes. She took in a shaky breath as her cheeks suddenly became wet with tears and FP stepped closer to her, "what's wrong?"

Alice tried to breathe, but she couldn't get her silent sobs under control as she looked at FP. Instead of attempting to speak, she walked towards the bed on shaky legs and sat down, trying to gain a sense of solidity as her legs threatened to give out beneath her. "FP..." She began quietly, before closing her eyes in what seemed like pain.

FP was now more than concerned as he took a cautious seat next to her and stared, urging her to speak. "FP, I need... I need to tell you something." That was all she could say before she completely lost it. FP held Alice close to him as she sobbed into his chest, that was all he could do. He didn't ask, he didn't pry, he just did what he knew she needed him to, and that was be there for her. He let her cry for as long as she needed. He didn't know what she was going through, he didn't know much about her anymore, but he did know one thing – he loved her. And, based on his own intuition, she still loved him as well.

That was the bottom line, and that was all that either of them needed to know. After a few minutes, Alice finally got herself under control. They both took turns brushing tears off of her cheeks as her breath finally grew steady and Alice could look at him once more. FP didn't speak, but his face told her that he was still waiting for her to get whatever she needed to off her chest. "I..." She began, staring at him as she tried to speak, "... I'm –" whatever it was that Alice needed to say was stopped short when the door to the conjoining bathroom to the bedroom opened suddenly.

FP had completely forgotten that Gladys had been in there. The walls must have been rather soundproof, because Gladys seemed completely surprised to see Alice sitting there with him and therefore couldn't have heard anything. The words that may have saved Alice Smith had been on the very tip of her tongue, but she was forced to be reminded of reality.

"Hiya, Smith." Gladys said questioningly, raising an eyebrow as she wondered what her boyfriend could have possibly just been talking about with his  _ex girlfriend._  Alice couldn't bring herself to respond, so she looked vacantly at the other girl before standing from the bed and brushed off her shirt nervously.

"Nevermind," she whispered because she'd suddenly lost her voice as she looked at FP and moved to leave the room, "it's fine."

And with that, Alice Smith had walked out of FP Jones' life yet again.

> _"So sweet with a mean streak, nearly brought me to my knees."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Cigarette Daydreams" by Cage The Elephant.


	8. 18

> _"We took a chance, God knows we tried."_

__Everybody has a dark side. Though, some wear theirs more blatantly than others. For women like Alice and Betty Cooper, their darkness was presently bottled up tightly. Like mother, like daughter, or so everyone always said. But, while Alice had spent _years_ learning how to keep that darkness safely hidden away, her daughter was struggling just to keep it from boiling over. Betty always believed she'd been born with this darkness that she had no idea how to control. She wondered where it came from, for her parents were such perfect people.

She wondered if perhaps that darkness came from her father, as she'd sometimes wondered if that man was always being genuine. Maybe he had some dark secrets that could help her better understand those dark urges of her. In reality, Betty had no way of knowing that it was her mother who had provided her with the darkness. Alice Cooper had been Alice Smith, the young girl who wore too much leather and ran around the Southside until ungodly hours of the night. Alice Smith who lit dumpsters on fire and snuck herself into bars. Alice Smith who was born to trailer trash and just so narrowly managed to avoid it.

The conflicting darkness that resided deep within Elizabeth Cooper was explained through Alice Cooper's hidden past. Of course her daughter might experience the urge to let her hair down and have a little fun every once and a while.  _That_ and only that, was the darkness that ran through Betty Cooper's veins.

> _"I have loved you since we were 18."_

If there was one thing to be said about Alice Cooper, it was that she was resilient beyond belief. Once that woman set her mind to something, there would be hell to pay for anyone who attempted to stand in her way. For as long as she could remember, she had been worshipped among the familiar faces of the Northside for that very reason. She did what she had to do to get where she wanted, regardless of the bridges that she had to burn or the people that she had to hurt in the process. Collateral damage was something that had never bothered her too much.

That was what she told herself, anyways. Well, it never bothered her until it caught up to her. And when it did, the weight stopped her in her tracks and forced Alice Cooper to face the life that she had superficially created as well as the reality that she had left behind. And she never had been the best at accepting things that she had no control over. With the intentions of keeping the past at bay, she didn't even let herself  _think_ about it let alone consider the fact that maybe she had followed her head mindlessly all the while disregarding her persistent heart.

Alice never  _dreamed_ that twenty-five years after she'd turned in her Serpent jacket for a life of Northside ease her perfectly polished world would begin to crack. And once that initial crack had been irrevocably implemented, it was as though the very floors gave out from beneath her and suddenly, Alice Cooper had been abandoned by everything that she had worked so hard to conjure.

It wasn't just the leather jacket that she used to wear and the insignia that permanently resides on her upper right thigh, it was about the man with the severely brown eyes that happened to know all too much about her. The man who had pushed her away and in turn she'd left him behind. The only thing that she knew without a shadow of a doubt to this day that she truly regretted, though she would never admit that even to herself. The one thing that would forever feel unfinished. Even today, as she sat in her nice Northside house while her perfect Northside husband watched the news in the next room and her two lovely Northside daughters were asleep upstairs, letting herself wonder what could have been if she had only done things differently only ever lead to a pain and sadness that she wished she didn't still feel.

The lingering effects of the grand fallout should have dissipated by now, or at least minimized. But, she could still be taken back to that very time and place as if it was the present. Alice didn't like to wonder what that meant.

Of course, one had to give her some credit due to the sheer fact that Alice Cooper had managed to morph herself into exactly who she'd always supposedly wanted to be. Her lifelong desire and struggle had given way to the image that she had always planned and hoped for. Beginning as young as seventeen years old, when she made that irreversible change that would forever haunt her. She crossed the tracks and let the work begin as she pawned away whichever pieces of herself that she no longer wanted to possess. She traded black leather and ripped denim for pastel pink, brown eyes for green ones, barbed wire for white picket, Southside for Northside.

Of course, that transition would have been much easier for her had the man that still gripped her heart in his rough hands not roamed the same hallways as she day after day even after their disastrous falling out. Luckily for Alice's sanity, they then lived different lives thanks to her decisions. She no longer had anything to do with the people that he constantly surrounded himself with, nor the places that he visited or the promises that he made. And by the end of their senior year, FP skipped class so often that Alice wondered if he had dropped out completely before reminding herself that she  _couldn't_ care anymore.

Following the breakup, Alice had successfully worked her way to becoming so pristine and proper that people eventually forgot that she ever pledged allegiance to a gang of reptile-worshipping Southsiders in the first place. But, there was one thing that she couldn't ignore. Something that if she'd known about sooner, surely things might have been different. Something that would make her  _forever_ a part of that world. But, it was also something that the others - those whose opinions she banked everything on - would soon begin to notice if action wasn't taken.

She was a teenager, and certainly in no position to take on what had been bestowed upon her. It was something that would never let her be the person that she had been making changes in hopes of becoming, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't set aside any and all superficial notions to do what the universe had asked of her.

She knew that it was a complication, but she didn't consider her pregnancy to be a  _problem_ exactly, and certainly not a  _mistake._ It was an obstacle, yes, but it wasn't something that would break her. In fact, when it came down to it, it was  _wonderful._ Putting aside all her worry, that was exactly how she felt about it. Wonderful. As if her entire world had flipped upside down in the best possible way. As if she was meant to be a mother, even if it was happening sooner than she might have expected.

The issue came from elsewhere - from the boy that she had decided would be suitable for her newfound reputation. Harold Cooper. The fact that she knew damn well that FP Jones hated the likes of Hal had sealed the deal, she was choosing  _him._ Graduation was mere  _days_ away and she was just thanking the Lord that the baby growing inside of her must have been small, because she wasn't quite showing yet. Therefore, she could still fit into that dark red homecoming dress just fine. Ultimately, Alice knew that she couldn't possibly do all of this alone, and FP was out of the picture completely. She couldn't be alone in this any longer, she knew that she needed an escape from the burden, and she was going to have to turn to Hal for that rescue. She assumed that it would be what was best for her unborn baby.

She'd been agonizing for  _weeks_ about telling him, but there was no beating around the bush. She needed to get it all out in the open in order for the two of them to work towards coming up with a solution that would be best for all parties included in the situation. That, of course, didn't include one of the most important people - the true father. Alice knew that Hal might wonder if the baby wasn't his considering the fact that her reputation tended to precede her around the school and also her relationship with FP had only ended but very recently before her and Hal started seeing each other, but she hoped that he would easily turn the other cheek.

She didn't know what she was exactly, but Alice certainly didn't know that, when pride and materialistic esteems came into play, Hal would demand the unthinkable. And so evoked the legendary fight between Alice Smith and Hal Cooper on the night of their senior homecoming that,  _of course,_ FP Jones just  _had_ to witness.

 

 

****

 

Homecoming was in full swing.

The gymnasium of Riverdale High was decorated beautifully, a stage had been set up, gowns were flowing everywhere, and the students were enjoying the most of important dance of their high school careers. The bathrooms smelled like cigarettes and hairspray, the punch had been spiked, and the voting ballots were being passed around. Everyone was having the time of their lives, save for Alice Smith, who felt sicker than ever before. She'd done everything that she was supposed to. She put on a full face of makeup, got into the dress that Hal had to buy for her otherwise it would have been second-hand, pinned her long hair up into an elegant style, she  _looked_ that part, and now it was time to act the part. And that meant keeping her lingering hands away from her stomach and keeping her dinner down. Claiming that her perspiration was due to the temperature and the dancing, and that her irrational tears came from the emotional aspect of graduation.

Things had gone okay for the first hour and a half, but things were beginning to crumble. The world was not only spinning, but falling apart around her, and Alice couldn't take it any longer. Her secret was positively eating her alive, and she didn't know if she would be able to hold off on telling Hal - or  _anyone_ \- until after graduation the next day.

But, there was another factor at play, now. After Hiram's legendary graduation party, rumours had begun to circulate. The rumour that Alice Smith and FP Jones had been spotted in one of Hiram's spare bedrooms was only talk for half a day until Gladys shut that one down, but it was still a source of juicy gossip among the kids at Riverdale High. When that rumour had been put to rest, they needed something else to feed off of. Like coyotes ravaging the forest. That was when someone else came forward and said that they'd seen Hal Cooper and Penelope Blossom  _also_ coming out of a spare bedroom and opened that particularly unpleasant can of worms. Alice had been shocked, confused, and downright hurt that suddenly her perfect relationship with Hal was being called out into the open.

Needless to say, her and Hal had been rocky for a while, and she worried that this might tip the scales. Alice had no idea if the rumours were true or not, but Hal certainly did nothing to put her mind at ease. She didn't know how to broach it with him, nor if she even should. Maybe it was what she deserved; she was nothing but trailer trash whose own father didn't even love her enough to refrain from beating her to a pulp and whose mother didn't care enough for her to stick around. She wasn't deserving of Hal Cooper's wealth nor affection. So, she stayed silent. Alice and Hal bottled up their concerns with respect to each other for the days before the homecoming, but they were all about to boil over.

But, the secret growing inside of her could not go unacknowledged for any longer. The fabric of her dress was rubbing up against her slightly swollen belly, and Alice was reminded that her body was now home to two souls as opposed to one. She couldn't take it any longer. She no longer wanted to fear for her own life as well as that of another. She needed help, and if Hal was the only person that could possibly help her and her baby now, then so be it.

" _Hal?"_ Alice called above the music through the crowd as she tried to grab her boyfriend's attention. She couldn't  _breathe,_ she needed to get away from the dance, she needed to confess to him everything that she was hiding. It needed to be done, and it needed to be done  _now._ So, when Hal  _finally_ looked her way, she gestured for him to follow her and the two of them found themselves in the back room of the gymnasium.

Hal had clearly gotten into the punch, and the adrenaline of the night mixed with the spirits that he'd indulged in made for a deadly combination within the young man. "You just can't help yourself, can you Alice?" He began, and elaborated following Alice's confused reaction to his blanket statement. "You can't help yourself from making a scene at  _every_ public event." Hal finished with a roll of his eyes, frustrated upon thinking that Alice's dramatic exit from the dance seemed overly characteristic of his girlfriend. If the boy had any conscience at all, he would have seen that Alice was already crying and perhaps softened his harsh voice.

"Hal, there's something that I have to tell you." She steeled herself though her bitter tears had begun to flow freely. Alice clenched her fists at her sides, trying to gain some balance over her shaking thoughts, breath, and body.

Hal regarded her cautiously, knowing that whatever she had to say likely wouldn't be good for him. "What is it?" He demanded with a certain harshness to his voice that worried his shaking girlfriend.

"I..." She looked away from him as she lowered her voice, "... I'm pregnant."

Hal narrowed his eyes as the shock hit him. " _What?"_ Alice shut her own eyes as the two of them maintained a safe distance from one another.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. When Alice told the man that she supposedly loved that she was pregnant, he was supposed to pick her up and spin her around as they both shed tears of joy upon realizing that their future together was beginning.

She certainly wasn't supposed to stand emotionless five feet away from her high school sweetheart in a cold room as he grew defensive and she grew detached. He was supposed to take her face in his hands and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that they would get through it together and do whatever they needed to do the best for their relationship and for their child.

Instead, Hal sighed sharply and shut his eyes for a moment, rubbing his forehead as he thought. "I'll make you an appointment." He stated, as if this was all as simple as any other inconvenient mistake that Alice had made.

" _What?"_ Now, it was Alice's turn to be shocked.

"Yeah," Hal confirmed, as if he was mentally checking his schedule, "we'll do it as soon as possible, no one will even know."

" _Hal,"_ Alice said, casting her arms out in an emotional gesture, "I  _can't_ -"

"My parents can pay for it," he interrupted, thinking that she was about to confess that she couldn't afford such a procedure, "they'd be happy to."

"Are..." Alice couldn't even believe what she was hearing, "... are you  _serious,_ Hal?" She knew that a girl in her situation had options, but she'd never even  _considered_ making such an appointment. And now to be told that she seemingly had no other choice in such a cold-blooded way as if he was simply telling her where they would go for dinner that night - she couldn't take it.

"Of course, I'm  _serious."_ Hal looked at her as if she had a screw loose inside her head. "You can't  _possibly_ think that we could just  _keep_ it, Alice. It's out of the question."

" _Out of the question?"_ She repeated, hoping that she'd misheard him. "I'm sorry, do I get a say in this at all?" She tried to get him to see that he was being ridiculous, but Hal Cooper was just as stubborn as she was.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to either of them, they were no longer the only ones in the room. The Fred Heads - a high school band composed of Fred Andrews, FP Jones, and a few other guys that had been put together back in junior year, even Alice and Hermione had once sang with the group - of all people, were now also borrowing the back room to set up their instruments for their big performance at the dance. Hal and Alice heard people around them in the background, but they quite honestly didn't care as their fight drew on. Fred was too far away to hear anything of significance, but FP was another story. Upon seeing Alice and Hal in clearly a very tense situation upon entering the room, his attention was hooked. He heard every word.

"It's the  _only_ option! If you can't see that then you must be out of your mind!" Hal said harshly, allowing his voice to be projected around the room.

"It's not the only option, Hal! It's certainly not what I  _want,_ and you don't just get to make that decision without considering that!"

"I don't really  _care_ what you want right now, Alice! I care about what this is going to do to our  _lives!_ Do you even know how this will affect our reputation if anyone finds out about this?"

Finally, Alice allowed herself to see right through her transparently selfish boyfriend. " _Your_ reputation, you mean.  _I_ will be just fine, it's  _you_ who can't get your head out of your ass long enough to see the bigger picture, here!" Alice had tears streaming down her face and she spoke between sobs but managed to get her point across. This wasn't how she wanted this to go. She wanted to be reassured, to have her terror understood but put to rest. Hal was doing just the opposite.

Watching all this confirmed two things for FP. Alice really  _was_ pregnant, and Hal really  _was_ a complete tool. He wanted nothing more than to shove the boy aside and take Alice in his own arms away from all of the bullshit that she'd been put through. But, something stubbornly terrified inside of FP just wouldn't allow him to do that.

"This isn't how you're supposed to react to news like this, Hal." Alice shuddered as she spoke.

 

Hal rolled his eyes, she was being ridiculous. "Why are you even telling me, then?" He uttered, as if it wasn't obvious. FP had heard all he needed to hear, and he knew that he should have excused himself to go wait with Fred backstage before he could lose his composure and punch Hal Cooper in the jaw. But, he remained frozen in place, lingering in the doorway. "Why don't you run off to  your Southside Serpent  _boyfriend_ and tell  _him_ this, why are you putting it all on  _my_ shoulders if you don't want what I have to offer?" Hal continued, and Alice nearly scoffed. All he had to  _offer_ was an abortion.

"My  _what?"_ Alice yelled, surprised that Hal was bringing FP into all of this. Usually, he didn't even like to speak FP's  _name_ let alone acknowledge his previous relationship with Alice.

"You heard me." Hal spat, shaking his head with a look of cold darkness behind his eyes that admittedly horrified Alice to her very core as he continued to berate her ruthlessly. Throughout their strained conversation, the microphones from the gymnasium were being broadcasted through the P.A. system into the room. They could hear their principal about to announce the homecoming king and queen, but that didn't exactly register for either of them in that moment. "Wait a second..." Hal said, holding up a hand as Alice held her breath. "...how far along  _are_ you?"

Alice knew what he was really asking - he was asking if he was even the father of this bastard baby. Alice decided to do something that she'd never been the best at; she told the truth. "I don't know." She sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek.

" _How far?"_ Hal shouted, demanding an answer.

But, this time, Alice wasn't going to allow him to force her into cowardice. Instead, she gritted her teeth and shouted back. "I don't  _know!"_

"You don't know." Hal repeated to himself in a lowered voice, trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening. "Well, this is just  _great,_ Alice."

"Oh,  _right,"_ Alice fought back, though her voice was lowered now, too, "because this is all just  _my_ fault, as  _always,_ Hal."

"Well,  _I'm_ not the one who got myself  _knocked_ _up,_ now am I?" He was ridiculing her. The last time she checked, it took two people to make a baby. But, based on her evasion of his previous question, there was a chance that Hal wasn't even the father of this  _mistake,_ he decided that he had the right to make her feel as responsible as possible.

"Because  _you_ can do no wrong?  _You've_ never made a single mistake in your life?" Alice challenged him, hoping and praying that he would finally begin to see things her way.

"Look at me, Alice! You think I would be where I am if I was prone to stepping out of line?"

Now, Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes. She still knew where to gain a bit of leverage from, and she had never been afraid of hitting below the belt. "Oh  _please_ _,_ Hal. Do you  _really_ want me to ask what you did with Penelope Blossom that night at Hiram's party?"

She had gained her leverage, but Hal was about to smack her right back down. "I don't  _know,_ Alice." He said, so sharply that it sounded as if he was mocking her. "Do  _you_ really want me to ask if it's possible that this baby might not have Cooper blood?"

Even through the noise being projected over the speakers, FP didn't miss a single word. He had bore witness to the revelation of intimate information that he should have had no right to hear. But now, he couldn't help but wonder. Only knowing the bare minimum, he imagined that he would always have his suspicions when it came to the secret senior year pregnancy of Alice Smith.

When Alice finally noticed his presence from across the room, he could have sworn that she was about to run to him and never look back. But again, their moment was interrupted. This time, by their principal, who had just announced that Hal Cooper and Alice Smith had won homecoming king and queen.

The room was silent for a moment as they listened to the cheering coming from the gymnasium next door. Alice looked around herself, unsure of what to do, but Hal's eyes turned to stone as he stepped towards her and took hold of her wrist ever so forcefully. They'd nearly crashed into FP Jones on their way to the stage, who moved aside for them and followed a ways behind, standing backstage with Fred and the band. Upon watching Hal forcefully watch Alice out onto that hot stage to accept their crowns, FP wondered just how their lives had gotten so dishevelled. Unwillingly, he couldn't seem to look away as the disaster unfolded on stage before his eyes.

Hal waved cheerily and flashed his million-dollar smile as their friends and enemies alike applauded before them. Alice's cheeks were still streaked with tears as the crown was placed on her head, but everyone assumed that she was weeping from the sheer joy of accomplishing something that she had seemingly dreamed of since she was young. But, the lights and the noise and the heat proved too much for her, and she took off running - dropping the bouquet of flowers that had been presented to her on the floor of the stage in the process - before she could even consider the consequences that her outburst would have on their name.

She led to safety. And Alice had only ever known true safety in one place. Thankfully for the both of them, Gladys was off powdering her nose and Hal was thoroughly preoccupied when Alice rushed into FP Jones' shielding embrace backstage. Moments before, while he'd been watching her uneasy demeanour out on that stage, FP had somewhat  _expected_ Alice to come running to him. And he didn't hold that against her. Though, it was admittedly good to know that their relationship clearly still meant measures to her, even if she had to act otherwise around town for the sake of her image. But, he understood. They needed each other to feel safe, they always would.

Looking back on this moment, Alice was glad that no one save for Fred Andrews had caught a glimpse of her momentary instant of weakness. Surely Fred, of all people, would understand and keep his mouth shut. And he did. In fact, it made the young man think what he wouldn't  _do_ for just one last embrace with Hermione Gomez. But, no possible tarnish to her image mattered to Alice in that moment. And, not that she really cared so long as she was standing there with FP's hands on her back, and not that she  _expected_ anything otherwise, Hal never even glanced her way. He knew that he would have to make up for his prom queen's erratic behaviour by giving a show-stopping speech and laughing off her sudden stage fright, so he did just that while his girlfriend sobbed into the arms of another.

It was then that FP realized the truth. Alice didn't leave because she had stopped  _loving_ him. She was just doing what she had to do in order to ensure a rich, well-bred, enviable future, even if it was one that she herself truly didn't  _want._ For this, he would resent her for decades to come, but in that one moment, he decided that he couldn't hold her desire for what she never had against her. Instead, he just held  _her._ Resting her head on his chest felt so natural and familiar that it didn't serve as much comfort to her. It only reminded her of just how much she had given up, what was no longer an option for her, the iron ties that she had severed in the name of respectability.

FP wrapped his coat around her and took her home without uttering a single word. He didn't ask questions, she finally slowed her breathing and ceased her tears from flowing, and they simply held onto the last moments that they would likely ever have like this with each other. Their youth was officially over. Sitting side by side in his pickup truck, driving through the night, the radio playing love songs so softly that they sounded like caressing whispers, it was nothing new to them. And when it was all over, she thanked him for the ride with a solemn look in her eyes and he nodded while suppressing a sigh that he had been holding in since their epic and irreparable falling out months back.

Watching that old Ford pickup drive away for the last time felt like the equivalent of an atomic bomb going off in Alice's mind. But, she knew that she would have to steel herself form anything like this in the future, so tonight was good practice. When Hal inevitably showed up at her front door in a rage unlike any other she'd seen before, round two had begun. A not-so-mutual agreement had been settled within the earliest hours of the morning, leaving Alice feeling drained, worthless, and reprimanded.

There were many facts that it all came down to. They weren't ready, Hal wasn't exactly  _confident_ in his biological relation to this child, and the birth of a baby at this point in time would prevent them from realizing the perfect, pure life together that they were striving for. All things combined lead to Alice packing her bags and only an hour after her and the graduating class had tossed their hats, she was thrown into the back of a van that would subsequently take her to the care of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

And in Riverdale, everything changed. No one save for Hal knew where Alice even  _was,_ Hal had left for the summer on an internship somewhere upstate, Hermione and Hiram jetted off to New York City as soon as they could, Mary prepared to go off to school, Fred put his world on hold for the sake of his father's failing health, and FP was packing to go off to the army. There was nothing for him in Riverdale at the time, and not even Gladys could keep him there. He needed to take the time and see that tour through, he needed to feel as though he was  _doing_ something.

Of course, had he known that Alice had been sent to nothing short of a concentration camp, he never would have left. He would have done everything in his power to get her back to safety. But, FP Jones knew nothing about that girl anymore.

 

Five months, many sleepless nights, and a heartache unlike any other later, Alice Smith emerged from the flames and began to truly reinvent herself. She'd given up a child, but not before she heard him cry, not before she looked into the light blue eyes that mirrored her own. Saying goodbye to her Charles was the hardest thing that she'd ever had to do. But, it wasn't long before she would become Alice  _Cooper,_ the wealthy mother of two perfectly polished, green-eyed, blonde girls living with her ideal husband in their typically suburban family home up on Elm Street.

She wore brooches and pencil skirts and worked alongside Hal down at the Riverdale Register. She made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her family and they played board games together before bed. Polly and Betty were innocent, well-mannered, straight A students, and Alice promised to herself that she would do everything in her power to prevent them from even  _thinking_ about making any of the reckless mistakes that she did in her youth.

Her children were pure, her marriage was flawless, she was  _Alice Cooper_ \- no longer the Serpent Queen, but the Queen of the Northside. This wasn't who she was inside - who she would  _forever_ be no matter how hard she worked at evaporating her truths - but this was what she knew that she had the  _ability_ to be. People respected her, people expected perfection from her, everyone knew her name for all the right reasons. She finally had a legacy that screamed  _idealistic_ rather than wrong side of the tracks.

It was everything that Alice told herself that she'd always wanted. It was everything that Hal Cooper told her she needed. Unfortunately, Hal Cooper was an  _idiot._

 

жжж

 

Life in Riverdale went on after graduation, no personal perils or pitfalls could prevent the ticking clocks that weigh on the individuals of the world.

Hiram and Hermione were gone, leaving a gaping hole in Fred Andrews' life. He was internally bitter. He knew that he could have given her a good, honest life full of love, passion, and safety. She knew that too, and yet she still turned her back on him. Of course, that misery never rose to the surface as Fred did what he had to do, what he'd always done. He stayed put, he supported Mary through her tumultuous years of law school, and he tried to make his father's last years as pleasant and painless as possible.

Meanwhile, FP Jones never held any aspirations for greatness beyond the Southside borders. When he came back from his military tour, he rejoined the Serpents and stepped back into the position of their king, and the rest for him was history. He settled down with Gladys, he ruled the gang, and he drank a six pack every day. The only thing that he ever expected from those that he dared to let close to him was loyalty. Ironically enough, his own queen, Alice Smith, had been the one to produce just the pain that he told her he was terrified of anyone else inflicting upon him. But, Alice's betrayal stuck. Almost instantly, she'd become hated by her own people.

Of course, they were  _his_ people, now. Not hers. His people, his clan, those who really  _did_ have his back, for better or for worse. And it was usually the latter.

And as for Alice, she was deemed  _many_ things. The turncoat, the traitor, the Judas, the Benedict Arnold, the blonde bitch, the stool pigeon. She knew the things that the Serpents were saying about her and the names that their king permitted them to call her in lieu of her own name - which was very  _rarely_ uttered on Southside turf. Alice Smith became _she who shall not be named._ But, she figured that she had to weigh her losses. And in the end, it didn't much matter what any Southside scum had to say about her, so long as the Northsiders were no longer referring to her as the Serpent Slut.

But, FP was an intelligent man. He knew why she had done it, even if it stung, and he couldn't blame her. He could  _hate_ her as much as he wanted, and he publicly did so. But, deep down, he knew that he was mostly responsible for what had happened. He had pushed her away, he was ignited their breakup, she brought on the aftermath, but he started the fire. He knew right off the bat that he couldn't provide her with any kind of luxury. He didn't realize that she  _wanted_ or needed luxury, but apparently, he hadn't realized much about her.

Even so, FP knew that when it came to love, comfort, and safety, there was no one who could give those things to her like he could. He also knew that  _she_ knew that. With that in mind, whenever FP thought about Alice Smith - and then Alice Cooper - from that point on, he almost took  _comfort_ in knowing that she may have betrayed their laws and left him behind, but she would forever be confined to a life lacking true amity and sanctity. It provided him with a bit of cruel poetic justice.

He knew that it was ridiculous to be so hung up on one girl at such a young age when he had the world at his feet. He couldn't possible had been right in thinking that Alice was the only one who he would ever truly love to such a dramatic extent. And yet, to this very day, his opinion remains unchanged. He went on to marry Gladys for one reason and one reason only - convenience. Everyone his age was getting married, he wanted a family eventually, and she was from the Southside. She was right  _there,_ and she was a lot like him.

Hell, there wasn't even a ceremony. They couldn't afford one and neither felt as though they even desired a reception to celebrate their supposed love with their friends. They'd go back and have a few drinks on the Southside, that was all they felt necessary.

For reasons that seemed to continuously pile up, FP started drinking shortly after his son Jughead was born, and by the time Jellybean came into the world, he was a full-blown alcoholic. This was the main reason that fuelled his inability to keep a decent job no matter how many friends came to his assistance with offers. He went down paths that he thought had to, he became the lowlife Serpent riffraff that Northsiders had always seen him as. He god involved in things that didn't help his case, and he wasn't even surprised when Gladys took Jellybean and ran and when Jughead began spending his nights God only knew where so long as it wasn't with  _him_ down at Sunnyside.

But, all the while, the Serpents had his back. So much so that they deemed him the best king they'd ever had. FP Jones' word was final, he ruled the roost, he was their God. The Serpents were the only people that FP never felt as though he had failed, and that was the only reason that he'd never left them.

 

 

****

 

For decades, Alice Smith and FP Jones had no reason to think of each other. Their past was just that - the past. But, when romance sparked between their children and Alice's life had become exposed to be not quite as perfect as she preached it to be, old wounds inevitably reopen. Old wounds that Alice herself claimed had healed  _many_ times over.

She never had been any good at lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "18" by One Direction.


	9. Break the Silence

> _"Found you out, your weakness."_

Relapse can mean many things. In the complicated case of Alice Cooper and FP Jones, it meant an obscure phone call, a full flask of alcohol, and the need for someone who produced indefinite safety. How was it possible that nearly five whole years could pass and an unnamed tension still persisted between them, perhaps even stronger than before? The truth was actually simple, the complications came from acknowledging it - so they refused to do so.

> _"Drown you out, I'm sleepless."_

After recovering with the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, life went on. Fred, Alice, Hermione, and FP went their separate ways. Once Jack had settled comfortably back into the Serpents after coming back from overseas, once Alice and Hal took off for school in the city for a few years, once Hermione and Hiram cut all ties with their Riverdale lives, and once Fred Andrews traded in his six string for a hammer and toolbelt, life began.

It wasn't what any of them had expected.

At this point in time, Alice and FP imagined that perhaps they'd both be still with the Serpents, maybe getting their own place on the Southside. They'd be married, they'd take weekend roadtrips with Hermione and Fred, they'd be thinking about kids. Hermione and Fred figured that by now they would already have a little one of their own and maybe a dog or two. Hermione imagined Fred working himself to the bone building their dream house. She imagined him becoming dejected that he'd be too busy for his music, so she'd surprise him occasionally with an impromptu jam session just the two of them out in the garage. She wanted to sing with him for the rest of her life. How quickly things changed.

The years passed all too quickly, and high school was officially in everyone's rearview mirrors. But, for most of them, everything came back to Riverdale. Because, after graduation with degrees in journalism, Alice and Hal moved back to town, inherited a house on Elm Street from Hal's parents, and set a wedding date. FP had finished his tour and was back in Riverdale, living at Sunnyside with Gladys in his father's old trailer. Fred and Mary were engaged to be married, but seemed reluctant to actually follow through with the wedding. Meanwhile, Hermione had already been given a ring and switched her last name to Lodge, ready and willing to take on the dark world of riches that Hiram thrust her into.

Hermione was the only one avoiding town, but even  _she_ couldn't stay away forever. Because, after the save the dates had been sent out, she received one in the mail. Her husband was busy with business during the weekend of the wedding, so Hermione flew back to Riverdale solo and hesitant, feeling uneasy about seeing the old gang again. In fact, she worried that Alice had given her an invitation as some kind of sick joke. Fred, of course, was invited to the wedding, because the Andrews had always been a respected family in Riverdale. FP Jones, however, would be the last person on earth to receive an invite to the Cooper-Smith wedding. Instead, he got something even better - a phone call.

Just because he hadn't gotten an invite certainly didn't mean that FP had no idea there was a wedding to know about. He'd heard all he needed to about how Alice had returned from college to marry his worst enemy. If that didn't rub salt in the wound, he didn't know what would.

> _"So, break the silence."_

The day was set to be glorious. Hal's parents had splurged on the ceremony, the church was decorated beautifully, everything was perfect. Alice wore a flouncy dress with big sleeves and an even bigger skirt and she had a veil draped over the back of her head. She looked like a classic Stepford bride, which was what she always wanted to be, was it not? Everything was perfect.

Except she was crying. Because she was  _alone._ Her whole life, she'd always longed to not be alone. She sat there after getting ready  _alone_ and preparing to walk down the aisle  _alone._ And as she still had an house before she'd promise herself to a man that she didn't even  _love,_ all she could think about was how very different it could have been. Five years ago, if you'd asked her to imagine her wedding day, she'd picture herself wearing a form fitting white dress with flowers on her hair, gloves on her hands, and snakeskin shoes on her feet. She'd have Hermione and Melissa and Marie and hell, even  _Gladys_ and all their other Southside friends helping her with her hair and makeup while Fred and the boys made sure FP looked nice in his suit.

After feeling sadness since her parents were both gone from her life and unable to walk her down the aisle, Fred Andrews' father Artie would offer her his arm and lead her down the aisle like the father that she'd never had. She would meet FP at the front of the room, their ceremony would be lighthearted, quick, and filled with passion. They'd kiss and the world would fall into place. The reception would be held on the Southside, and it would be one big party. Everyone would get drunk and dance and sign and every trouble would fall away because FP and Alice - two soulmates - had finally tied the knot.

That's what she would have imagined. Instead, she found herself alone and free of all joy, counting down the minutes until she would wed Hal Cooper. Before she even registered what was happening, she had picked up a phone and the other line was ringing in her ear. When she heard a familiarly rough voice on the other end, Alice felt her body go numb. But, she couldn't prevent a small gasp from slipping from her lips.

That gasp was all it took, and FP knew  _exactly_ who was on the other line. " _Alice?"_ He questioned in disbelief, and she slammed the receiver down, a flush rising to her face. She unplugged the phone from the wall so that it could tempt her no more. What on earth was she thinking?

But, FP got a second phone call near  _minutes_ later. He'd been pacing around his trailer, drunk but now suddenly sober. He answered the call immediately, rather out of breath, thinking that it would be Alice calling again. "FP, it's Fred." His heart sank. "I need you to do me a huge favour, I have a stain on the tie that I'm supposed to wear, I need you to bring me a new one."

FP rolled his eyes, that didn't even make sense. "You have other  _ties,_ Fred."

"No, they want us all wearing white ties and this is the only one I have but I  _know_ you have one so could you just come drop it off, please?" Fred was pleading, but he truly did have ulterior motives.  _Yes,_ his tie had been compromised and  _yes_ FP did have a white one to spare, but there was a tempting possibility to it all. Getting FP to set foot in that chapel, maybe even to run into Alice, perhaps it could all be saved. Fred wasn't trying to tamper, and he really didn't know anything about his friend Alice anymore, but he still wanted what was right.

Maybe it was all because Hermione Gomez - now Hermione Lodge - was in town, and every so often he'd catch a glimpse of her sitting alone in the stone church on the end of a pew and Fred would realize that he wished he could have done something different. If he could prevent Alice and FP from making the same mistakes that he did, he could rest a little easier. After a little more persuading, FP Jones found himself driving onto the Northside, his blood nearly curdling when he entered the church and pushed open a random door, hoping to find Fred. He  _did_ find Fred in that room, but he was not alone. Fred was consoling a rather distraught, vaguely familiar blonde woman in a wedding dress.

Fred took the tie from FP, thanking him with a nod before leaving him and Alice alone together in the back room of the chapel, merely fifteen minutes before she was set to walk down the aisle with another man. Before she could ask what the  _hell_ he was doing here at a time like this and before he could ask why she had miserable tears streaming down her fact, FP shoved his hands into his pockets and spoke. "Fred needed a tie."

Alice took a wavering breath and blinked at the man before her as if she was seeing a ghost. "I -" she began, but her confidence betrayed her as more tears suddenly came. "I don't know why I called earlier..." she trailed off, her voice weak and exhausted, hoping that he would understand her simple need to get as close to him as she possibly could have given the circumstances that shaped their current lives. They had started a war between not only the two of them but between the Northside and the Southside all of four and a half years ago - a chance encounter in a cold chapel was as close as they could get to each other.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, watching her shake her head and wipe away a stray tear. He already knew the answer.

Alice felt ridiculous; here she was crying on her wedding day to her ex-boyfriend while her fiancé's friends and family sat mere yards away in the main room. But, she couldn't handle the truth. And the truth was that there was something missing from her life. And that something came in the form of the two stormy brown eyes that she was now looking into. FP wasn't even worried about Gladys coming home to a suspiciously empty trailer on the evening of Alice Smith's wedding, he had other things to worry about now as Alice could no longer meet his eyes but refused to verbally answer his question. "Do you not want to do this?" He dared to ask, in a low voice that threatened to fail him.

Alice's face crumpled helplessly as she moved slightly closer to him, FP took a step of his own towards her, his heart racing. Alice was surprised to see his hatred for her fade to endearment. She thought he hated her, if she were him, she would hate her. Besides, _she_ hated  _him._ So, why did everything feel so right? She was shaking her head, but what did that mean? Did it mean  _no,_ they shouldn't do this? As they melted into each other and their lips shifted slowly but surely towards the possibly inevitable meeting, they  _knew_ they shouldn't do it. Or did it mean  _no,_ Alice didn't want to marry Hal. She didn't want to be there at all.

FP didn't know, but before their feelings could be sealed with a kiss, there came a pounding on the door and Hal Cooper's mother was shouting that Alice had two minutes until showtime.

She clenched her eyes shut and sighed, their moment had been broken. They were being ridiculous, nothing but stupid, thinking that they could, what? Kiss and run off together to live happily ever after? Not possible. Or was it? Then came the lingering silence that had been filled with actions. They stared at each other until the passionate hatred in their eyes melted away to understanding, to sentimentality as they fed off of memories that they weren't quite ready to let go of. It only felt natural when Alice lay an exhausted hand on FP's chest and he placed his own strong hand on her waist to steady the both of them. Alice shut her eyes painfully as another tear fell down her face, resting her head on his chest as he moved his hand up her back. In that moment, the world came to a halt. All both of them had needed was to find themselves in each other's comforting embrace once more, and they were now realizing that they were nothing but  _stupid_ to ever let each other go.

"You don't have to do this, you know." FP mumbled, though he knew it wasn't fair of him.

Alice began to nod, "Yes,  _yes_ I do, FP." Pulling away from his grip and clenching her fists together, she attempted to cease her tears. "Unless..." she trailed off.

FP took a breath, "Unless?"

"Unless you can give me a reason not to." Her voice was shaky and her eyes uncertain, Alice Smith - yes, she was still Alice Smith, for the next two minutes, anyways - was wearing her heart on her sleeve. Cards on the table. She was asking if he still loved her, if he was willing to give her a reason to walk away from all this.

FP nearly put a hand to her cheek, he nearly kissed her then and there, he nearly told her that of  _course_ there was a reason she shouldn't marry Hal. But, there was something weighing him down. And that something resided on the fourth finger of his left hand. He sighed and hung his head before daring to look her in the eyes. She saw his answer in his eyes, and it broke her heart all over again. "Gladys and I..." he shifted awkwardly, heartbreak in his voice, "...we went to city hall last month."

She knew what he was saying, and she saw the ring on his finger. How had she possibly not known that FP and Gladys had tied the knot? Alice nodded with a gulp, tears spilling down her cheeks. FP moved away from her and shoved his hands in his pockets, knowing full well that it was his cue to leave. Alice said nothing to stop him from walking away from her and out of her life forever. Before he could tear his eyes away from the love of his life wearing a wedding dress meant for someone else, she looked at him painfully and spoke softly but with a certain hollow bitterness to her voice that would forever haunt him. "Goodbye, FP."

He nodded once, indicating that this was finally it for them. This is where it ended. Their initial breakup all those years ago was so messy and complicated that they weren't sure  _when_ exactly it had felt like the end, perhaps it never did. But, today, while Alice was on track to vow her life away to Hal Cooper and wear his ring for the rest of her days, this was the end. It ended where it should have began - with a wedding. "Alice." FP said solemnly, looking at her once more before walking out the door and out of her sight.

And, thus finalized the first real conversation that the two former lovers had had since their breakup when they were practically still children.

 

> _"Give me a reason, we had credence, but now we're poisoned."_

She called him again.

The night that their son turned ten. Their son that he, of course, knew next to nothing about. But, when Hal had caught Alice staring solemnly at a sonogram picture that didn't depict the image of either one of his daughters, one of their many fights broke out with respect to that particular subject matter. It had been a decade, Alice should have gotten over it by now. She shouldn't still be weeping over a  _mistake_ that had been thankfully taken care of.

She knew that Hal had to be right. Prestigious mothers living in big houses with stable husbands and strict curfews should never feel heartbroken in any way. This was the life that she had created, this was what she  _wanted._ But, it was nights such as that one when she continuously had to repeat phrases like that to herself.

Alice tried to shake it off and go to bed, but she had been trying to leave the past behind in vain for years. For one night and one night only, after downing her third glass of wine, she let herself forget all about mind over matter. While Hal was likely already asleep upstairs, Alice sat shaking on her couch as she mourned all that could have been and reached for the phone. Tonight would be the night that she finally broke the silence.

Dialing his haunting number didn't even require thought as her fingers traced their familiar path. When it rang four times with no answer, Alice was microseconds away from hanging up and laughing at herself for even thinking that she should contact him. But, at the last second, he pulled through with a gruff answer. Everything about his voice sent chills through her body, and again, she gasped upon simply hearing it.

Only one person had ever called him and answered with a gasp before, therefore FP already  _knew_ who exactly was calling him at midnight on a Wednesday like any other. He sat up straight in his chair. "FP?" Alice finally managed to say, though her voice was shaking for many reasons. She could hear him breathing through the phone and it nearly floored her.

" _Alice?"_ When she heard her name grace his lips for likely the first time in years, Alice grew lightheaded and while her tears had been subdued while staring at the picture of her unborn son, it was as if FP Jones had opened up her floodgates. She knew that she was crying, and it shook him to his core to realize that he had been right - she  _was_ living in her very own personal hell, even if it seemed like she had everything she'd ever wanted. He may have been drunk, but her voice sobered him immediately. "Alice, what's wrong?" He questioned, almost harshly, needing to make sure that she wasn't in any immediate danger.

She took in another wavering breath and let herself sink deeper into the couch that she rested on while she gripped the receiver as if for dear life. "I -" She began, but tears began to flood her eyes before she could say more. "I don't know why I called..." Trailing off, Alice hoped that he could fill in the blanks. She needed to be close to him, and this is as good as it was going to get.

"Are you crying?" He asked, hearing a sniffled from her end.

Alice couldn't believe herself. She was calling her high school lover in the middle of the night while her two infant children and devoted husband slept soundly upstairs. Tonight was different, though. Because, tonight, there was a little boy out there turning ten who didn't have his mother and father to celebrate with.  _Her_ little boy. The little boy that was the product of undeniable true love. A child who would have been subjected to a life of danger and perhaps even poverty, but at least he would get to witness the harmony that his parents exuded when they were in each other's company. And that was how Alice justified this controversial phone call. That child had nothing to do with the Coopers. Not a single one of them. This was about her and FP Jones.

"I shouldn't have called." She managed to say, even if her heart wasn't in it. She still had a bit of an image to uphold.

When FP's end remained quiet for a beat too long, Alice took this to mean that he agreed with her and she almost went to hang up the phone before she could make a food of herself, if she hadn't successfully done so already. "It's good to hear your voice." He finally said, and the serenity of his unexpected statement caused Alice to shut her eyes with a sigh as she remembered just how she had cut her losses all those years ago.

Of course, FP felt bad that his wife was currently sleeping in the next room after she'd finally managed to get their son down meanwhile he was out there in the living room feeling something that he hadn't in  _years_ while reconnecting with someone that should have been nothing more than a sleeping dog.

He should have hung up the phone the minute that he recognized her sharp intake of breath. He should have contacted his telephone provider to see about getting her number blocked so that he could ensure he would never be tempted again. He should have shut her down before either of them could let the longing in their voices bleed through. That being said, there was a lot of things that he  _should_ have done in his life. First and foremost, he never should have let her get away.

"You know..." Alice begun with a recognizable facetious air about her words, "... you know my life is a complete  _joke?"_ She was still crying, but she was now threatening to become quietly hysterical.

" _Alice."_ His voice was dark, warning her not to say too much. Though the words were on the tips of their tongues, it would only be dangerous to speak them now. Then, something would have to be done about it. And all things considered - marriages, children, images, and burnt bridges - it would all be far too complicated.

"Don't you ever feel that way?" She asked, clearly holding her breath as she awaited his answer. "Or..." she suddenly wondered the supposedly impossible, "... or is everything actually... actually  _perfect..._ for you?" How ironic would it be that she had turned her back on him in order to provide herself with a  _perfect_ life but when it all came down to it, she was living a lie, whereas she had set him free to live exactly how he wanted to.  _Perfect._

FP let her words sit with him for a moment before rubbing a hand over his forehead and taking another swig from his flask. His articulations became low, giving in to the weakness that she would always provide him with. "Don't play games, Alice." She truthfully hadn't been trying to play any twisted games, but she didn't blame him for suggesting that. "Word travels fast in this town, you know  _damn_ well that nothing's  _perfect."_ He spat out that last word as if it burned in his mouth.

On the other end, Alice just sighed. She had asked for this. She  _knew_ that in order to make the changes that would provide her with a squeaky-clean reputation, her heart would have to hurt for a while, However, she'd been prepared for the few weeks of heartache - she had no idea that it would persist for a decade, and never truly fade. She only hoped that it would end soon. "Nothings perfect." She reiterated softly, as if to remind herself.

FP was suddenly overcome with another emotion - hot anger. In the beginning, he hadn't really known what to make of Alice's betrayal. While her actions had been traitorous towards the Serpents, it was  _personal._ He was the one who pushed her away when things got bad, but she was the one who ran for the posh Northside hills without a second thought. They had both made mistakes, but he was the one left to deal with the aftermath.

He had been on edge, he was going through a breakup all the while trying to hold the Serpents together. He knew that he should have been angry,  _she_ was everything that was wrong with Northside people. But, the truth was that he understood why she did it, and he had provoked it. They were both responsible for what had happened between them, but she was the one who couldn't let their separation be peaceful. She was the one who just  _loved_ stirring up drama and soiling the names of those she believed to be less than herself. Nonetheless, when the Serpents gave her a taste of her own medicine and called her wretched names that lord knows she deserved, FP felt the strong urge to demand them to shut their mouths.

" _Yeah?"_ He said sharply, "What would  _you_ know about  _that?"_ The harshness of his town took Alice by surprise, but it shouldn't have. She'd forgotten that they weren't on good terms. Still, the hatred in his voice shook her senses loose. "You're  _Alice Cooper._ Your whole  _life_ is supposed to be  _perfect,_ wasn't that the whole point of all of this in the first place?"

Alice had never been one to back down from an argument nor to take a severe tone without reciprocating. "My whole life is a  _lie._ You of all people should know that -"

"And yet," he interrupted with what sounded like a bitter laugh, "you parade around up there in your big house with your  _perfect_ husband and have the  _audacity_ to shit on  _our_ names and our lifestyle as if you weren't just as much a part of it as I am."

" _I_ left that life  _behind,_ FP." She said, supposedly definitively.

" _Yeah,_ and now you're calling me because you're crying alone on a Wednesday night, so how did  _that_ work out for you, Alice?"

As tense as their words were and as much blood loss that remained between them, they both knew that their cruelty came from a different place. It came from hurt, it came from the pain that they both had caused each other, it came from the intense love that they continuously felt for each other.

"I  _told_ you, I really  _shouldn't_ have called." Alice said sharply. At least she wasn't crying anymore.

"Yeah, why  _did_ you?" As FP called her moment of weakness into violent question, Alice clenched her teeth together in acrimony.

" _Clearly,_ I wasn't thinking straight."

Silence was all that either of them heard through the receiver, but Alice waited. Even after all this time, she could tell that the tone of their argument had suddenly changed. The harshness was gone, and in it's place was a familiar melancholia. Nonetheless, the bitterness managed to persist. "Maybe you were." FP said plainly, leaving her to fill in the blanks of his statement. She'd gone and gotten her life so screwed up that perhaps this one phone call back to her roots was the first time that Alice Cooper had been thinking straight in  _years._ "Thinking straight."

Alice sighed sadly, knowing that their conversation would have to come to a quick end as they both came to their senses. "Maybe I was." She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Goodnight, FP."

"Alice."

It was sweet but fleeting, and they treasured every word spoken. Every emotion that couldn't quite be muffled. Every lingering silence. Besides, if all they got was one phone call every few years, they sure as hell had to hold on to those moments as if for dear life. On FP's side of the call, he reached for another drink, knowing that there was no way that he would possibly sleep after his chance encounter with the legendary Alice Smith. Alice  _Cooper,_ he reminded himself.

He wasn't left unsatisfied. He  _knew_ that she must have been unhappy in her sham of a marriage, he  _knew_ that she must have felt some sort of remorse for what they'd both done to each other, he knew that when she needed something -  _someone -_ real, it was  _him_ that she ran to. Frankly, he was just glad that she had said  _goodnight_ this time, as opposed to  _goodbye._ To him, it meant everything.

And when the alcohol went to his head, he wondered if maybe they weren't finished after all. Maybe they never would be.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Break the Silence" by Palace.


	10. All Summer Long

> _"It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long; caught somewhere between a boy and man."_

The Southside of Riverdale did not provide suburban Friday nights. Especially not if a young Serpent by the name of Alice Smith had anything to do with it. She could talk her friends into just about anything. Riverdale was far too sleepy for the likes of her during the weekdays, thus why she insisted on blowing off some steam in ways that may not have been particularly respected by those living on the Northside.

It all started with the fabled drag races that had been taking place on the Southside long before the current generation of Serpents walked the earth. It wasn't always between the gangs, most of the time the races were just between friends looking for a bit of fun to settle a bet on a night that needed some action. Nonetheless, for the most part, those drag races were born out of amusement rather than actual serious competition.

For Alice, until she was thirteen, she'd only ever  _heard_ of the races and dreamt about them from safer places. Everything changed for her when she started high school and realized that there was more to life on the Southside than riding bikes with her young friends through the quiet Sunnyside Trailer Park. They were not children anymore, they couldn't sit around each other's basements and dress up their Barbie dolls anymore.

> _"She was seventeen and she was far from in between. It was summertime in northern Michigan."_

She went to her first drag race out on the old Southside highway that was now nothing more than a forgotten dirt road on a hot September day during her ninth grade year and from that moment on, she was hooked. She watched from the sidelines as two cars took off down the road at dangerously high speeds while her and the other mere observers shared cigarettes and passed around bottles of cheap beer, kicking up dirt as they anticipated the results. If the rush that she got simply from watching the race was exhilarating, she could only imagine how it might feel to get closer.

For the next couple years, Alice stepped into the position of the race-starter. She was so famous for it that everyone who knew about the drag races began to nickname her "Pistol" because, ultimately, that's what she was. She would stand in front between the two racing vehicles and give them the wave that would begin the race. She looked forward to it, it made her feel like she was a part of it. Closer to the danger.

But, that wast he thing about Alice Smith - she could never be quite close enough. She would always find a way to edge herself closer and closer, until there was no going back. That's what always terrified FP Jones about her. Speaking of whom, he then came into the picture that was her life. With a devilishly handsome stature and brown eyes that Alice decided weren't looking into unless she allowed herself to get lost in.

He was a driver. And suddenly, she was a passenger. FP usually either rode a beat-up motorcycle that he fixed up in his spare time or his trust old pickup truck. Not during the races. On those eventful weekend days or nights, he would borrow his cousin's old 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang and really rip into his competition. He rarely lost. Not in that beautiful mahogany-coloured ride. When him and Alice started hanging around each other during their teenage years, she would sit right there next to him in the passenger seat as he raced through the streets of Riverdale. She'd roll down her window and let her hair fly in the wind as she held a cigarette between her fingernails that were painted a chilling colour of black while FP gripped the wheel with one hand and her thigh with the other, hooting and hollering as they floored it.

> _"Splashing through the sand bar, talking by the campfire. It's the simple things in life, like when and where."_

But, it didn't take long at all before Alice wanted to get even closer. She'd always liked being in control -  _loved_ it, even - it was no surprise that she was just itching to get behind the wheel. So, what did she do? She went out and managed to trade her beater four-dour for a 1971 cadet blue Chevy Camaro. No one could figure out how she pulled that one, but Alice Smith always got her way, so it wasn't particularly a shock. So, she passed the torch along to the next hand-selected "Pistol" - a Southside tenth grader named Marie Topaz.

Once Alice drove in her first race, there was absolutely no going back. Much to the horror of FP Jones, who was always trying to keep her as far from any danger as possible. But, unfortunately for him, she was constantly winning. And Alice loved to win. To this day, she's never once lost a drag race. Even when racing against FP himself, though she knew very well that it was because he would always let her win. She didn't mind, a win was a win, at the end of the day.

> _"We didn't have no internet, but man, I never will forget the way the moonlight shined upon her hair."_

Drag races weren't a weekly occurrence, they happened either meticulously planned or completely randomly when a pair of friends got cocky. There was much more to do. On Friday nights, Southside kids took their pick of sneaking into the Whyte Wyrm, breaking into various buildings around town, spiking their root beer floats from Pop's, getting frisky in the back of their vehicles at the drive-in, heading out to Sweetwater Swimming Hole for an overnight camping trip, and much more. Basically, anything they wanted to. The Northside always considered themselves the rulers of Riverdale, but they never had any fun. And it was because of antics such as the ones previously described that Alice Smith became the poster child for the Southside's insurgent reputation.

 

> _"And we were trying different things, we were smoking funny things, making love out by the lake to our favourite song."_

 

 

That being said, the kids on the Southside didn't  _always_ need to be raising hell and causing trouble to have fun and be with each other. They knew that there was more to friendship than danger and outrunning the cops. Which is why, on the nights that they had nothing better to do, they would find themselves at Sunnyside Trailer Park - completely innocently. Well, almost completely. Were it not for the beers, cigarettes, and occasional rolled joint that accompanied them, it would have been perfectly innocent. Still, much tamer compared to the possibly-deadly races that they sometimes partook in.

Sunnyside was home to many kids on the Southside, and everyone on the Southside were friends. Therefore, it was the perfect place to spend time when they wanted to be with each other. It didn't matter whose trailer they ended up in front of or whose backyard they found themselves in - whoever was home first, usually - but those Southside kids were always there, without fail. After they got home from school or work and grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner, it was the same old routine. They'd throw on a plaid shirt, lace up their combat boots, grab a lawn chair, and head on down to whichever trailer or house was willing to host their motley crew.

There would always be someone there, so it really didn't matter what time anyone showed up at. It wasn't exhilarating, it wasn't dangerous, and it certainly wasn't jail-worthy, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Nighthawk Collins always brought along his stereo, and that Melissa Hargrove always showed up with one hand in Marie Topaz's and the other holding on to her camera so that she could capture the genuine fun that the kids had down at Sunnyside. It mattered that FP Jones had a crazy story to tell and that Alice Smith's acid wash jeans were thoroughly ripped.

Because there was more to Riverdale than just the Southside, Alice and FP would always bring Fred Andrews and even Hermione Gomez to tag along wherever they went. Fred was always great under pressure and never turned down a dare, so he fit right in. Of course, it was harder with Hermione. She had a reputation to keep. She got good grades, came from a decently respected family, and was hoping to go to a good New York university. So, she was always rather hesitant when it came to participating in the kind of fun that Alice and FP liked to drag them all into. Eventually, they managed to loosen her up. It was when she took note of Fred's wide smile while running wild through the untamed streets of Riverdale that she decided she would give in and let herself be free for once in her young life.

Life was good for those first three years of high school. Though it was hard for most kids on the Southside - poverty, abuse, drugs, and danger, to name a few hardships - the kids living there were a family. They had each other's backs, if they went down, they went down together, kicking and screaming. The best thing about the Southside, was that there was no pressure. A Northside kid could tag along with the run and they'd hopefully fit right in. So long as they didn't cave to the Northside stereotype and begin bashing the Southside, there was no problem with them coming out. Knowing this, the Southside kids never pressured them to take a drag from their cigarettes or to shotgun a can of beer unless they were into it. It was as close to harmony as there ever would be between the two sides of the Riverdale railroad tracks.

Creating chaos and running for their lives was fun for the kids on the Southside, but they could all agree that the nights that were spent simply sitting around the fire, telling stories and spreading laughter, were the best times they'd ever had together. Their boots got dirty, various forms of smoke filled the air, bottle openers were thrown around, and Bruce Springsteen sang them through it all. Those were the glory days.

> _"Catching wild life from the dock, watching the waves roll off the rocks, she'll forever hold a spot inside my soul."_

But, like every good narrative, next comes the turmoil. Everyone knows the story of how FP and Alice's relationship fell apart, sending her running into the arms of Hal Cooper on the Northside. And, if you're familiar with that story, then you probably also know all about how Hermione Gomez inevitable left young Fred Andrews for the rich and mighty Hiram Lodge, and they both took off for New York without looking back.

The graduating class of 1992 had been doing so well, until the year of their  _actual_ graduation. Which is - as you know - why Alice Smith is now married to Hal Cooper, FP Jones to Gladys Williams, Hermione Gomez to Hiram Lodge, and Fred Andrews to Mary Maiden.

> _"We'd blister in the sun, we couldn't wait for night to come. To hit that sand and play some rock and roll."_

 

 

Fast forward fifteen years, and Alice's two young girls just started grades one and two, FP's first-grade son is reading at a fifth-grade level, and his infant daughter just took her very first steps. Alice's daughter is falling head over heels for Fred's son and, somewhere out there, Hermione's daughter was off attending a prestigious New York elementary school. Now, I know what you're thinking... that doesn't sound so bad, does it? But, here comes the other shoe. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Because Hal had also just cheated on Alice with Penelope Blossom for the second time during their relationship, Alice has a hole in her heart that could only be filled by a baby boy that she never even got to hold, Fred's marriage is seconds away from falling apart, and FP isn't in love with the mother of his children. The world was out of balance, and the citizens of Riverdale were the ones feeling the disproportion. But, for one harmonious night, that was about to change.

> _"Now, nothing seems as strange as when the leaves begin to change, or how we thought those days would never end."_

Alice Smith had recently just set up her call display. She was the first out of all the PTA families to buy a landline compatible with caller-identification, and it was already proving to be nothing but advantageous for her. She now knew where  _exactly_ her husband was calling her from, she knew which calls to pick up, which calls to avoid, and which calls to let ring a couple times before answering.

When her phone rang on a Wednesday afternoon like any other, she read the words, " _ANDERSON, F & M." _She wasn't surprised. Fred or Mary called her occasionally to set up play dates between Betty and Archie, to invite her to events, to ask favours, and so on. It was nothing out of the ordinary. She certainly wasn't prepared for the conversation that would follow.

"Hello?" Alice answered with a casual lightness about her unsuspecting voice.

"Hey, Alice." A familiar voice that had grown rather gruff with age responded. "It's Fred."

"I know." Alice said with a pretentious smile, still bragging about her new phone's abilities.

On the other line, Fred rolled is eyes and suppressed a sigh. "Oh, right. Caller-I.D."

"Mhmm." Alice mused, cradling the phone on her shoulder as she went about her business, tidying up the living room. "What can I do for you, Fred?" She asked, expecting to be asked some kind of favour.

"Well, I was just wondering if you were busy doing anything this Friday night?"

Alice's voice suddenly took on a familiarly teasing tone as she mocked her long-time friend whom she'd recently grown apart from. "If this is your way of asking me out, Fred, I'll happily remind you that we're both married." She teased and could practically hear Fred's groans from the other line though he had somehow managed to keep them silent.

"Would you stop?" He responded, she'd been playing that game with him for as long as he could remember. People had often confused the two of them for a couple ever since they were elementary school-aged and playing together in the sandbox. Because of this, Alice liked to take advantage of the situation by always teasing him about having a crash on her, though he never did. Nor did she. They had always somehow managed to remain purely platonic. "That's getting old."

"Oh, you know I'm only teasing, Fred." She said with a smile. Her playful conversations with Fred Andrews were the closest thing she had to the happiness of her past. "Anyways," she said through her quiet laughter, "what's Friday night? You and Mary want to do dinner?" That was the likely answer, or so the thought.

"No, that's not it..." he trailed off, she wasn't sure why.

"Well, what is it?" Now, Alice straightened her posture. She didn't like his wary words.

Fred hesitated before responding. "Don't... don't freak out when I ask you."

Alice was officially on guard. Her defences shot up the minute that the tone of his voice did. "You're unsettling me, Fred Andrews." She said in a way that demanded he tell her what was going on, immediately.

"Well, between you and me..." he began, and Alice immediately knew that it had something to do with the man responsible for the other hand of Andrews Construction. "... FP's been having a bit of a hard time, lately."

Though Alice feared that Fred's call had something to do with her old flame, she was still surprised to hear his name come up. " _FP Jones?"_ She demanded. Fred usually knew better than to bring him up in conversation. " _That's_ what you're calling me about right now, Fred?  _Seriously?"_ Her facade threatened to crack as she reprimanded him.

"I asked you not to freak out." Fred deadpanned, never one to be felt demonized by the likes of Alice Cooper.

"I'm not freaking out." She managed to compose herself, fixing her cardigan as if someone was watching her. "But, what does that  _snaky_ business partner of yours have anything to do with  _me?"_ Fred was about to elaborate, but Alice continued on her tangent. "He's  _always_ having a hard time of some kind, I don't see why it's even any of my  _business_ nor what I could  _possibly_ do to solve that."

"Would you calm down?" Fred narrowed his eyes in wonder. How she could always manage to get so thrown off by the very mention of that man would always fascinate him.

"I'm calm." She did not sound calm in the least. Nonetheless, she thought she was a sturdy liar. She was not. She never had been.

"Listen, Alice." Fred began, and Alice could sense that he was about to tell her what she needed to hear. "I know you and him haven't always been peasant with each other, and I know that you'd probably rather just go about your lives pretending that the other doesn't exist."

There was a pause, leaving Alice confused as to what his point was. "I'm assuming there's a ' _but'_ in there somewhere?"

" _But,_ Gladys took the kids to see their grandparents in Toledo this week and FP had to stay behind for work."

"And how is that _my_ problem?"

"Well, I was just thinking that, since he's got the trailer to himself, maybe we could all get together down at Sunnyside?"

Alice was floored. What on earth was her dear neighbour thinking? "Are you kidding me, Fred?" That was all she could initially say as she now found herself dumbfounded. "Is this 1991?"

"Come on, Alice. You're _thirty_ , you're not dead."

"Thirty-two." She nearly laughed at herself. Never did she think she would ever argue with someone who had just claimed that she was younger than she was. Nonetheless, she really wanted to get out of whatever Fred's crazy plan was.

"You might not like to let your hair down or leave the comforts of your perfect house over there for any other reason than work and PTA meetings, but I think that a night down at the trailer park might be kind of fun, don't you?"

"Clearly, I do not."

The fact that she hadn't hung up on him yet told Fred that she was willing to be convinced, even if her words seemingly said otherwise. "Why not?"

Alice threw her free hand in the air out of frustration. " _Because,_ this isn't  _high school,_ Fred!"

"Sure," he shrugged, "but we all used to hang out down there every time we got the chance!"

"Yeah," Alice scoffed, " _fifteen_ years ago!"

"Don't you ever miss just pulling up a lawn chair and relaxing by the fire telling stories and just having fun with the people who were always good to you, Alice?"

That was not something that she wanted to hear. Alice steadied her voice to a cold monotone. "I don't know why you're attacking me like this, Fred. We're not teenagers anymore, I have a reputation to uphold, a new life. If I want to remain respected as chairman of the PTA and head of the Register, I can't just go dressing in plaid and lounging around a Serpent-infested trailer park on the Southside."

She always was good with words when they had a bitter aftertaste. "Well, that's another thing." Fred interjected cautiously.

Alice no longer had time for his tiptoeing around the truth. "Spit it out, Andrews."

"It's nothing, really." That usually meant that it was  _something._ "I've just noticed lately that your recent articles in the Register have been rather vile towards the Southside."

"So, what? I mean every word of it." Had Fred been looking into her eyes as she spoke, he would know that she was trying desperately to convince herself of the lie that she'd just spoken.

"Well, that may or may not be true, but I just don't really understand how you can trash that place and the people living in it when you yourself are from the Southside. Were even a Serpent, for that matter."

Alice rolled her eyes, when would people stop using that against her? Little did she know, Fred wasn't using it against her in any way, he was simply stating a fact. But, Alice had grown so accustomed to her own husband using her past gang involvement against her that she could no longer differentiate between people's intentions when it came to her being a Serpent. "I chose to leave that life  _behind_ when I moved up here to the Northside with Hal. Just because it's where I come from doesn't mean that I have to be proud of that." She spoke as if she was reciting lines from a script, which she may as well have been doing since she was so used to mindlessly spouting that same old story.

"Speaking of Hal..." Fred now changed the subject.

Scoffing, Alice was mere seconds away from hanging up on her neighbour. "What might my  _husband_ have anything to do with this doomed conversation?"

"If you do come down on Friday, just don't bring him." So, that was what this was about. "Please." That was as close to pleading as Fred Andrews dared to get.

"Is this a joke?" Alice shook her head as she spoke. "It would be bad  _enough_ for me to be seen on the Southside with FP Jones of all people, but to be seen there  _without_ my husband? It's just downright scandalous!"

"Why FP Jones ' _of all people'?"_

"Oh, please." Alice really didn't want to have to say the words that they both already knew.

"What?" Fred playing dumb, his usual way of getting her to talk.

"You're so obnoxious, sometimes." She said quietly. " _Because,"_ Alice cleared her throat, ready to continue acting, "he's the leader of the Serpents, of course." She finished, as if it should have been obvious. But, Fred knew the real issue.

"Don't be stupid, Alice. You bring Hal not only onto Southside territory, but into FP's own  _backyard?_ It's just plain cruel and it won't make for a very pleasant night. You and I both know that."

Alice was quiet for a moment, considering his words. "Fine." She said coldly, leaving Fred to wonder what exactly the outcome had been.

"So, you'll come?" He dared to ask.

"I didn't say that."

"Well, you're not exactly saying no, either."

"I don't see why it's such a big deal if I come or not." She picked up Betty's blanket from the floor and folded it neatly over the back of the couch as she awaited Fred's explanation.

" _Because,_ Alice! In high school, you, me, and FP were inseparable! We spent every minute of our spare time hanging out wherever we could with everyone else just cutting loose and being kids! I think adults need that too every once in a while."

Alice now knew exactly how she could turn this accusatory conversation around on him. "It wasn't just you, me, and FP." She said, completely bypassing his point.

"Yeah, I know there was always a bunch of us. But, we were closest."

"That's not what I mean, Fred." The silent on his end told Alice that he now knew  _exactly_ who she was referring to. "I _mean_ , don't you think you're forgetting someone?"

"I have no idea who you're getting at." Now, it was Fred's turn to play Alice's game. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't nearly as good at is as she was.

"Don't play dumb, Fred. If you can prod me about FP, then I sure as hell can do the same to you about Hermione."

Simply hearing her name spoken aloud in conversation was enough to make Fred's poor, tainted heart skip a beat. "Yeah, well..." he now grew solemnly bitter, "... Hermione's in New York. With her  _husband._ She has nothing to do with us getting together on Friday."

"If your intention is to force us into reliving an old high school Friday night at Sunnyside, then she has  _everything_ to do with it, does she not?"

"I can't deal with you, Alice." Fred groaned aloud this time, running a hand over his tired face.

"You've always said that, and yet here we are. Ten years later and living next door to each other."

Fred refused to comment. "I really hope you'll consider making an appearance on Friday." Alice's line remained quiet. "You know where to find us."

 

> _"Sometimes, I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along and think man I'd love to see that girl again."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock.


	11. My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)

> _"Ever since she left me, I sure feel all alone. A little misunderstanding, I can't get her on the telephone."_

It was Friday night and Alice Cooper had been standing in front of her closet, staring into the vast racks of clothing, for what seemed like forever. Every time that her eyes dared to dart to the very back left of the closet, Alice felt a rush of emotions that couldn't easily be listed. Excitement, sentimentality, longing, but most prominently, guilt. Because, her husband had so clearly asked her to throw those old clothes out. Actually, he'd demanded that she _burn_ them, but Alice had never been one to take demands.

Behind all those soft blouses with pastel pink floral prints and baby blue polka dots, if you looked past the freshly ironed pencil skirts, you'll find a few plaid shirts hidden away. Shirts that still smelled of smoke and her old cheap perfume. But, those button downs certainly weren't the only skeletons hiding in Alice Cooper's closet. For if one was to search a little deeper, they would find a locked box tucked away secretly on the shelf above the clothing rack. A box that genuinely hadn't been opened in years.

It remained locked because Alice wasn't sure how to open it. Not literally, but emotionally speaking. She wasn't sure if she  _should_ open it. She wasn't sure what the outcome would be. Would she get angry and finally burn its contents like her milquetoast husband so wanted her to? Would she be overcome with melancholy and be reduced to tears? The truth was that she  _knew_ exactly what would happen. She would be forced to face reality and swallow a bitter truth. And she certainly had no interest in doing that.

What was in said fabled box, one may ask? A leather jacket. Black with a bit of tasteful fringe running down the arms. There was a hole in the right-hand pocket from when she'd accidentally shoved her hand in the pocket while still absentmindedly holding a lit cigarette. But, what's so special about a run-of-the-mill leather jacket? The fact that, on the back of it, resides a two-headed snake insignia. The truth being, it isn't just an ordinary leather jacket, it's the jacket that she was granted when she was sixteen years old and she joined the Southside Serpents.

But, that's not all. That box signified memories that Alice would rather not have to remember, but certainly didn't want to forget. So long as they're locked safely away in that box, she thought that she didn't have to acknowledge any of them. It was a foolish thought, but it seemed to be working for her. The jacket took up most of the space, but if one dug around a little bit, they'd find a variety of items. Countless Polaroid pictures of a young Alice Smith running around the Southside, going to house parties, hanging out at the Wyrm, on the back of a motorcycle, arm in arm with Hermione Gomez and young Fred Andrews, lying in the arms of the one and only FP Jones.

As if those photos weren't already too much for her to handle, the box was already home to a variety of precious moments that she supposed were never really hers to keep. The first note FP ever passed her way back in tenth grade English class, the name tag that she wore that summer that she worked at Pop's, the blue scrunchie that was always either in her hair or around her wrist as a teenager, her favourite tube of ruby red lipstick, the spare key of her very first car, numerous old tapes and cds that she'd spend hours burning, her old journals. The box contained what was her entire  _life_ as a teenage girl before she'd fled from the Southside and decided that it was better to forget everything about herself in hopes that everyone else might do the same.

> _"She's hanging out down on Main Street, living in a different world. I'm standing around with the gang on the corner, talking about my girl."_

Today, just thinking about that box and its contents, Alice shuddered. She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt sick to her stomach until she realized that she felt similar to when she would go away for a weekend on a business trip and force herself to be away from Polly and Betty. What she was feeling wasn't physical sickness exactly, it was  _homesickness_. A dreadful longing for what seemed like a different lifetime. For people and places and feelings that she once embraced but now hides away from.

She shut her eyes and shook her head in an attempt to chase away all of those unwanted feelings. Now was not the time nor the place to be getting sentimental. Not if she wanted to stand a chance out there at Sunnyside Trailer Park later that evening. Hal was down in Greendale for the weekend at a "Men in Journalism" retreat, which is the only reason that Alice even  _considered_  joining Fred and the others at the trailer park. Hal simply wouldn't allow it, and that was the bottom line. But, he was out of town and Polly and Betty were both gone for the night at sleepaway camp with their girl scout group this weekend. The stars had aligned, or so it seemed. In reality, Fred Andrews knew exactly where Alice's family would be tonight and scheduled this seemingly impromptu gathering around that fact. When he learned that Gladys was also away with Jughead and Jellybean to visit their grandparents in Ohio, it was an added bonus.

Knowing this, Alice felt fairly safe stepping onto the Southside. It was only for one night and besides, if Fred was doing it, she could too. Her husband could never find out, that was one thing she knew for sure. So, there she remained, poised in front of her closet. She truly was at a loss, though she shouldn't have been. She wasn't about to just tear up an old pair of black tights, tease her hair, and throw on her Serpent jacket, but she also wasn't about to show up to a trailer park bonfire in pink stilettos and a Ralph Lauren coat. She had to find that happy medium.

She sighed sharply and rolled her eyes, she was being ridiculous. With a quick movement, she reached towards the back of her closet and decided to just get it over with. It was early September and if she remembered correctly, there would be a fire as well as plenty of blankets to be had, so it wasn't as if she needed to bundle up. Knowing this, she threw on a simple navy blue t-shirt that she hadn't worn since she was painting Polly's bedroom a few years ago. She pulled on a pair of black jeans that she usually wouldn't dare to leave her house in, and she wore a red flannel button down over top of it all to provide herself with at least a slight amount of warmth. On her feet, she wore a pair of black stiletto-heeled boots that were just terrifying enough to prevent anyone from messing with her but not quite Serpent material as they just so happened to be Louboutin's.

> _"My girl, she was the world to me. She's gone, away across the street. My girl is just a memory, she's been so long away."_

As Alice drove down towards the railroad tracks, she couldn't quite ignore the butterflies in her stomach and the tremble in her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she'd even set foot on the Southside. It had to have been close to decades. And as for Sunnyside, she hadn't been there since High School. It was nerve-racking, she would admit. Would she even be welcomed? She truly wasn't sure. If the roles were reversed, she certainly wouldn't welcome a Southside Serpent onto her property. And Lord knows she spends enough time attacking them and the entire Southside in the Register alongside her Northside husband.

She wasn't sure what to expect. From the people that she was about to socialize with, but more specifically, from  _herself_. Would she remain rigid and unwilling to cut the Southside a break, or would she allow herself to relax and join in on the lighthearted conversation with her old friends? She did not know. Alice Cooper loved to be in control, it was a necessity in her life. But, she was now beginning to realize that while she was always out to control everyone and everything, the one thing that she never quite had full control over was herself.

Which is why she was now daring to pull up to Sunnyside Trailer Park that had a familiarly warm glow about it. Suddenly feeling rather self-conscious, she checked her look in the mirror of the car before opening the door and stepping out into the crisp fall air. The atmosphere was immediately recognizable. The smell of campfire, the faint but numerous voices coming from wherever the action was, the occasional slam of a trailer door as someone went in and out. the sound of motorbike engines from the forest behind the trailer park where Alice knew the kids were out riding. Straightening her flannel as she walked, she could hear even more once she got closer to the fire. She now realized as she walked the property of her first home that it was as if she'd never even left.

The flick of a lighter, the crack of a beer can being opened, the whir of a tape being rewound in a stereo, and the unmistakable voice of FP Jones ringing through her ears. There were many people talking, but his voice was the only one that stuck with her. She wasn't even surprised. Stepping into the light of the fire, her presence was suddenly acknowledged. there were plenty of small bonfires happening out in front of several different trailers, and people appeared to be wandering back and forth just as she remembered.

But, the gathering in front of FP's old trailer wasn't as large and grand as it used to be. The dancing fire cast shadows on the faces of Fred and Mary Andrews, Marie and Melissa Topaz, good old Nighthawk Collins, Fox Fogarty, Alannah and Jefferson Petite, and of course, FP Jones. Fred's grin widened upon seeing that Alice was able to get over herself for the night and come out to the fire and beside him, his wife seemed pleasantly surprised to see her.

Alice didn't quite care how the others reacted to her appearance. Of course, it was rather nice to see some of her old Southside friends, but all that mattered to her in that moment, was the look on FP's face. He looked as if he thought his eyes were deceiving him. She could tell that he didn't really know how to react as he nearly stood from his seat upon seeing her. The story that he had been in the middle of telling came to a complete stop the minute his eyes fell upon her. Utter shock, plan and simple.

"Alice," Fred said cheerfully, knowing that it would be up to him to break the silence, "glad you made it." He gestured towards an empty lawn chair directly across the fire from FP and tossed an unopened bottle of beer in her direction that she caught as she sat down without missing a beat.

Finally recovering from the initial shock enough to clear his throat and turn towards Fred, FP spoke in a voice that Alice couldn't quite distinguish. Was it truly angry, was it simply teasing, was it bitter? She didn't know. "Fred," he began, catching the attention of not only Fred, but everyone else who had been part of the conversation. "I thought you were kidding about inviting her." Though he was speaking to his best friend and business partner, FP's eyes remained locked on Alice from across the raging fire.

In response to this, Alice just rose her eyebrows in a manner that told FP he shouldn't try to start a fight with her, because she'd win. He only glared back with stony eyes laced with honey which expressed that she could play tough all she wanted, he could easily match her, and she knew it. "I thought he was, too." Alice raised her voice sharply, making it very clear that she wasn't about to be messed with tonight. Especially not by FP Jones, of all people.

FP still didn't tear his strange gaze away from her even as he continued to speak. "And yet..." he raised a taunting eyebrow, "... here you are."

She gave him a sly look of her own and cracked open the lid of her bottle using the lighter that she knew would still be in the pocket of her flannel. "So," she began, looking around at the motley crew of bonfire attendees, "what did I miss?"

"Just tonight, or for the past fifteen years?" Nighthawk said teasingly from the chair directly beside her, poking her playfully in the side as he spoke.

Alice couldn't help but giggle, thankful that he wasn't completely bitter with her for who she had become - unlike some people. "I see that I haven't missed your  _maturity_." She teased in return, he didn't change.

"Hell, you know that maturity's overrated, Smith." He sat back in his lawn chair, finishing off his can of beer and tossing the empty off to the side where it bounced off the makeshift recycling can and fell onto the dirt beside FP's trailer. For a minute, FP nearly winced as he let himself wait patiently for Alice reaction. Based on how she acted lately and the stories he'd recently heard about her, he was fairly certain that she was about to stick her nose in the air and tell Nighthawk that " _it's Cooper, now_ " with a haughty attitude. He was pleasantly surprised to see Alice chuckle lightly and take another drink from her bottle.

> _"She didn't have to leave me, she didn't have to run. She didn't have to go without a word to anyone."_

With the initial shock of her presence out of the way, the group could move on and they each went back to their own little conversation. Alice caught up with Marie and Melissa as FP and Fred went back to their conversation about the business and Nighthawk began telling a wide-eyed Mary one of his crazy stories. Throughout the night, people came and went, their party grew and shrank, stories were confirmed and refuted, and a subdued version of their old teenage Friday nights was successfully recreated. Of course, this was how each and every Friday night unfolded down here on the Southside, especially at Sunnyside. But, for the first time in over a decade, Alice Smith - now Cooper - was there to partake.

Because Fred Andrews is Fred Andrews, he just  _had_ to bring along one of the thousands of burned tapes that the lot of them had spent an entire summer listening to every time they gathered at Sunnyside on nights precisely like this one, spent a day down at the swimming hole, or went on an impromptu road trip. Nearly every song brought back a memory or two, but specific songs hit harder than others for FP and Alice particularly. They shared a secret fleeting look every time a song reminded them of each other in some way, and Alice only hoped that the others didn't notice.

Whitesnake's  _Here I Go Again_  had been playing when Alice stepped into the Whyte Wyrm Bar for the very first time and immediately caught FP Jones' familiar eye. Blondie's  _Rapture_ was their go-to jam every time the two of them decided to get high down by the water. The Tragically Hip's  _Long Time Running_ was playing during the time that they'd spontaneously danced together at their junior prom before they'd even started dating. Heart's  _Barracuda_ was the only song that Alice ever played whenever she drove in a drag race.

When Alice and FP first said that they loved each other for the first time out there in the snow, they could still hear David Bowie's Rebel Rebel faintly playing from inside the house behind them where the New Year's Eve party continued on without them. That night that FP bailed her out of jail and the two of them went back to the Wyrm, Alice lost her virginity to the song  _Wild Horses_ by The Rolling Stones. After FP had finished his Serpent initiation and he was called up on stage to receive his jacket, they played the song  _Rock You Like a Hurricane_ by Scorpions.

Allanah Myles'  _Black Velvet_ was the only song that managed to bring a blush to Alice's face when she met FP's eyes from across the fire. That was the song that she'd performed her legendary Serpent dance to back in the day. It was only suitable due to the literal black velvet lingerie that she wore beneath the blue dress that she had stripped off before dancing around that iconic pole that evening. As the music played on and the conversation around the fire continued, Alice and FP simply couldn't stop being reminded of each other. Alice thought of him when the tape played Loverboy's  _Working for the Weekend_ because it was FP's all-time favourite song back in high school. And when Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's  _Stop Draggin' My Heart Around_ care on the stereo, FP thought of Alice and how that was always their favourite karaoke song down at the Wyrm.

But, there were also songs that played that reminded FP of Alice even though she would have no idea as to why. Because, after they broke up, FP dedicated covers of those songs secretly to Alice whenever he sang or played them with the Fred Heads, back in the day. Songs like  _It Must Have Been Love_  by Roxette,  _Still Loving You_ by Scorpions _, Heartache Tonight_  by Eagles, One by U2, Heart's  _Alone_ , ABBA's  _Knowing Me Knowing You_ , and  _Wonderful Tonight_ by Eric Clapton to name a few.

Of course, there were a few songs that got to them more than others.  _Bette Davis Eyes_  by Kim Carnes had been "their song" since before they were even officially in a relationship way back then. Any time that song came on the radio or they'd managed to hear it while they were out somewhere, it made both of their hearts skip a beat. As if they were surprised that the song was still allowed to be played now that their relationship had ended so detrimentally. But, no matter when or where they heard it, they always thought of the other. Not only that, but they would always take a moment to wonder if, somewhere out there, the other was hearing it, too.

Near the end of the night, when the fire was beginning to die and no one had any interest in throwing on another log, Fleetwood Mac's Landslide began to play, and it cut like a knife. To anyone else, it was just a song. To FP and Alice, it was an empty promise that had never been fulfilled. Alice used to gush to FP about how much she loved the song and about how one day, she wanted it to be her wedding song. Of course, that wasn't really what she meant, and he knew it. She meant that it was going to be  _their_ wedding song. Because at that point in time, neither thought that they would marry anybody else.

> _"I hope she's doing alright, I got no way to know. Unless she get to hear this song, hear it on the radio."_

Why were the songs so important that night? Well, a very famous storyteller once said that where words fail, music speaks. That had never been so true. If there was ever a pause in the conversation, if there were every any wary feelings, if there was every any amount of discomfort, the music filled the voids and suddenly, it was relaxing. The night wasn't perfect - they never are in Riverdale. Anyone could see that Fred and Mary were acting quite cold with each other, that FP was drinking twice as much as everyone else, and that Marie's rumoured illness was very much alive and well as she occasionally had spurts of coughing fits every now and then.

As their "almost" wedding song played on, FP stared off into the fire and wondered if she truly  _did_ use that song as her first dance with Hal at their wedding. It felt like betrayal. FP was shaken from his thoughts when Alice herself stood from her lawn chair, the look in her eyes told FP that the song had gotten to her as well and she felt the need to excuse herself momentarily. She didn't want him to accompany her wherever she was about to run off to, but it would appear as though she didn't have a choice. "Is there somewhere I can wash my hands?" She said in a quiet voice that nearly cracked as she spoke, holding up her wet hands that had beer dripping down them as she'd spilled her drink.

FP looked at her silently for a moment before sighing slightly and standing, giving her a nod that gestured for her to follow him up the stairs to the trailer. When Alice stepped inside behind him, she couldn't help but look around herself. She remembered being a kid and playing around in this trailer. Then, being a teenager and doing an all  _new_ kind of playing in the trailer. Now, this is where the love of her life lived with his wife and children. It was a little too much for her to bear.

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, staring out the window across the room as Alice washed her hands in the kitchen sink behind him. That haunting song was seeping through the walls of the trailer and successfully created a tension between them. FP spoke rather quietly, though it still created a shockwave that rattled through the quiet trailer. "So, did you do it?" He asked in a rather remanding manner, and Alice looked at him cautiously, wondering what exactly he was referring to.

His voice was undoubtedly bitter, but that was what was to be expected between the two of them. He'd certainly had too much to drink, and yet it still wasn't  _near_ as much as he usually had these days. He wasn't drunk, but he definitely wasn't sober. Alice wondered if that was the cause of his vague question. "Do  _what_?" She snapped back, not in the mood for his accusatory tone, so she hit him with one of her own.

"This song." He said, looking her square in the face. She now knew  _exactly_ what he was talking about. Nonetheless, she remained quiet, demanding an elaboration. "Did you use it at your wedding?" He practically  _spat_ out the word  _wedding_. Alice narrowed her eyes and let her emotions get the better of her.

"That's none of your business." She whispered with a dangerous edge to her voice. For two people who were now married and living two very different lives, it would appear that they'd both done a shitty job of getting over each other.

FP looked away from her and let out a bitter scoff. He suddenly believed that she really  _had_ turned into the Northside bitch that he'd been told she had. But, that wasn't really accurate. The truth was that he brought out a defensive side to her. In fact, FP Jones was the reason she became who she was. When their relationship ended, it broke her. She hardened her heart and closed off her emotions. Thus, bringing them to the harsh reality that she now lives. "It's just a  _question_ , Alice." He responded harshly.

Alice finally looked over at him, and he was irritated to see that the streetlight from outside the trailer was shining through the nearby window and had illuminated her eyes in a rather alluring manner. This was no time for him to be utterly and uncontrollably attracted to her. "No." Her voice was soft now as she spoke, and wavering in a way that she didn't even bother trying to hide. He had always had a knack for forcing her into a vulnerability that she never felt with anyone else.

FP remained silent, fearing that if he spoke, he would prevent her from saying anything else. "No, we didn't use this song." Her voice was so quiet and tender that it was barely above a whisper, and it sent a chill down FP's spine.

He uncrossed his arms and instead began to grip the counter as the conversation had put him on edge. "Why not?" He asked, though it was more of a subtle demand. "You always said you wanted to use it for your wedding." His voice was gruff as he spoke, still bitter about the way things had gone down between them.

Simply being near him was enough to tear through all of Alice's carefully constructed defences, having a conversation such as this one and hearing the emotion in his voice nearly brought her to her knees. She could feel an unwanted tear begin to pool up in her eye, so she blinked it away before it could do any damage. "Because... " she began, but didn't really know where she was going to go with it. "... because, it... it was supposed to be for... "

" _Us_?" She had trailed off, so FP finished for her and Alice's eyes immediately snapped to his. He had just dared to speak the words that they had undecidedly and silently both promised never to speak. He must have been drunker than she'd originally thought. In fact, he wasn't. He was currently more sober than he had been in a very long time.

Her silence combined with the desperation in her eyes told FP that he was correct. "What song  _did_ you use?" He asked, and for the first time, he let her see through his own act. In that split second, he wasn't the rough-around-the-edges gang leader that didn't care about anyone or anything. He cared. He cared a lot.

Alice looked away with a wistfully facetious smile and almost let out a scoff, knowing that FP would get a kick out of the truth. "Air Supply." She spoke rather bitterly, looking him in the eye once more as he turned his head slightly, asking her wordlessly to elaborate. "All Out of Love." FP raised an eyebrow once he realized why she was speaking as though her wedding song was comical.

"You got married to a breakup song?" He spoke incredulously, stifling an ironic scoff of his own. Instead of answering verbally, Alice only gave him that cheeky raise of her eyebrow as she always did. "How about that?" He finished quietly, more to himself than to her.

But, instead of trying to make any more out of it, he sighed wistfully and put a casual hand on her back, calmly urging her out the door of the trailer and back to the bonfire that they had abandoned. During their brief absence, Marie hadn't been feeling very well, so she'd gone home to her own trailer and Nighthawk had wandered down to the Wyrm where he was going to finish the night. That left the Andrews, Melissa, Alice, and FP to tend to the fire.

> _"I hope she gets the message, got to get back, you know. Going to track her down, I'll find that girl, going to tell her that I love her so."_

Because of the missing party members, the seating arrangements had been modified and FP and Alice now sat beside each other - they hadn't even considered the danger that may arise from that situation. But, much to everyone's delight, there was no catastrophe that night. And the only reason for that was because they were on the Southside, where Alice  _actually_ felt at home. She loved the sturdy yellow walls of her big house on the Northside, she loved the wallpaper in her bedroom and the sleek hardwood floor in her kitchen. More than anything, she loved having a classic Stepford appearance about her life.

But, there was just something about the Southside dirt under her boots that got to her. This was where her roots had been planted. And, no matter how far she wandered, it was  _here_ that she would always belong. Deep down, she had to know that. Though, she would be damned if she ever showed it.

It was late, but there was a melancholy feeling surrounding the party of old friends that kept them seated together. Stories were told, more personal ones this time. Melissa recounted the time that Mary and Fred had both shown up tipsy to her and Marie's wedding and nearly knocked down an entire wedding tent. FP asked if anyone remembered the summer that they had all gone on their roadtrip up to Canada and they'd gotten so lost that they had assumed that Greensboro, Vermont was Montréal, Canada and attempted to speak French to its residents.

Alice told the story of her, Marie, and Mary piercing their ears in Hermione Gomez's basement, thus leading to her presently crooked earrings. And Fred even dared to bring up a story that Alice hadn't even  _thought_ about in years.

"Something that sure as hell stands out for  _me_ personally in high school was getting a call from the sheriff's station at two in the morning." He sent a pointed look towards Alice, who crossed her arms and sat up straighter.

"Oh,  _yeah_." Melissa giggled, leaning closer to the fire. "I  _forgot_ that you used good old Fred Andrews for your one phone call, Alice"

"Well, who would _you_ have called?" Alice defended herself, though her tone was light. "He's the only one that I  _knew_ would pick up!"

As the group chuckled softly, FP sat back in his seat and glanced sidelong at the woman that he used to know who now sat beside him. "Come on, don't give him all the credit." He said, his voice gruff. " _I'm_ the one who bailed you out."

Alice looked over at him, rather surprised that he'd mentioned that. Their eyes did all the talking as they reminisced about what had truly happened that night. The night that it all  _really_ began. Before they could even finish revelling in the moment, the conversation went on without them as Mary described her favourite house parties from their graduation year.

Meanwhile, Alice was suddenly feeling heavy. She knew that it was a lousy habit, and she only ever snuck a smoke when she  _really_ needed one. But, right now, she really needed one. So she pulled out her cheap emergency back of Marlboro's and lit up a cigarette with a swift flick of her lighter. The gesture had gone overlooked by the rest of the crew, they'd known that Alice had smoked occasionally as a kid, so they didn't think much of it.

But, FP glanced over at her in utter amusement. If anyone was to tell him that tonight, he'd be sitting in a lawn chair around a fire outside of his trailer at Sunnyside next to  _Alice_ _Cooper_ who had just lit up a smoke and shoved her lighter back into her over-sized plaid button-down, he would have thought that they were describing a strange dream he might have. But, no. This was all very real.

Alice Cooper who he only ever saw at PTA meetings where she would look down her nose at him and hang off the arm of her no good husband. Alice Cooper who wore floral blouses and pencil skirts and told everyone that she appreciated classical music. Who had two daughters that she dressed in matching outfits and steered them clear of any riffraff children.

There were days that it was impossible for him to remember that she was the same person whose own parents  _never_ attended PTA meetings when she was in high school because her mother had walked out on them and her father was an alcoholic, abusive asshole. Back then, she was Alice  _Smith_ who hung off the back of  _his_ old motorbike as they tore up the town. Alice Smith who wore red lipstick and leather jackets and fishnet stockings underneath her ripped jeans. Who listened to old rock songs and painted her nails black. Alice Smith who  _was_ the very  _definition_ of a riffraff child.

He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice so that their conversation was only available to her ears. "You shouldn't smoke that stuff." He said, and she sent him a teasing look.

The truth remained that she knew him  _very_ well. Even after all these years. So, she moved her hand towards him and he took the cigarette from her fingers with pleasure, raising it to his own lips and taking a drag before giving it back to her.

The fact that he could taste her lipstick on the cigarette butt would have driven him mad were it not for the slight rush of nicotine that now spread through his body. He had to force himself to look away from her as he came to a realization. The taste of lipstick and Marlboro cigarettes had always reminded him of her. Now, here he was, being reminded of her again. Only this time, she was right there beside him. He didn't need to be  _reminded_ , because she was only an arm's reach away. And yet, he was quite certain that she'd never been farther from his grasp.

> _"Put the word on the grapevine, spread it all around the world. Sooner or later I know I'm going to get her, I'm talking about my girl."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" by Chilliwack.


	12. Bad Habit

> _"Look at you, walking up and down the hall. I say please."_

It could be argued that distance makes the heart grow fonder. If that were true, then Alice Cooper's tactics for staying as far away from FP Jones as possible surely just wouldn't work. She hardly let herself wonder if she was being successful, the whole point of it all was to keep him off her mind once and for all. But, when FP is practically reincarnated into a small, dark-haired boy the same age as her prim and proper daughter, Alice inevitably finds herself at an unexpected loss.

> _"You say you want it but you can't get it in. You got yourself a bad habit for it."_

Since a few iconic interludes between Alice Cooper and FP Jones such as her wedding day, their son's tenth birthday, and that one careless night down at Sunnyside, their interactions became rare and distant, but savoured as if they were the sweetest delicacy either of them would ever know. Younger Alice had been hoping her lingering feelings for FP would be minimized by the fact that once they both graduated, they would go their separate ways and hopefully not bump into each other too frequently. This worked for about fifteen years. He lived on the Southside, she lived on the Northside, the events that they frequented were never similar, they were completely void of each other. That was how Alice wanted it, that was easiest.

But,  _of course_ , their children were born on the same year. And,  _of course_ , when they came of school ages, Betty and Jughead immediately formed a close friendship along with Fred Andrews' young son, Archie. The three of them were inseparable, and every time Alice saw her youngest daughter in the company of FP's son, it sent a shiver through her whole body. It was all too easy. To her everlasting relief, it had always seemed to be Archie that caught Betty's romantic eye. Still, she could never be too careful.

With the friendship of their two children now in place, FP and Alice began to see more of each other than they had in many years, even if it was only five minute telephone calls to set up play dates, brief conversations at each other's front doors as they dropped off their children, running into each other at school plays, and fleeting eye contact at PTA meetings back when FP still had the sense to keep up with his son's school life. It was bittersweet. Forcing Alice and Hal Cooper to experience brief interludes with FP and Gladys Jones that would forever be awkward, they had all gone to high school together, they all kept up with the rumour mill that was Riverdale High. The past was in the past, but it was far from kept at bay.

There was still built up anger and borderline hatred not for each other but for the decisions that they'd both made, but things had shifted into more of a casual irritation. Alice would say something snarky and FP would fight back with a dig only he would dare to use against her, Alice would roll her eyes and look away while FP chuckled and that was that. But, even if these minuscule moments were not amicable and even if they were observed by the watchful eyes of the other parents, not to mention both FP and Alice's spouses, they were nonetheless treasured.

PTA meetings became something that Alice looked forward to all month because she knew that, if she were lucky, Gladys would drag FP along. Hal was not oblivious to this, but him and Alice both knew that there would never be anything he could do about this. His marriage to Alice Smith was bestowed upon him like a gift, the fact that she chose  _him_  to be what she always deemed  _perfect_  was nothing short of a miracle. Because of this, Hal worshipped the very ground that she walked on. He would be a damn fool if he ever walked away from her, or so he was told. Hal came with financial security, but FP came with a safety unlike any other Alice would ever experience.

Hal may have been an idiot, but he was not stupid. He observed Alice's mood as it went from measured and dull in the weeks in between and became excited and altogether pleasant around the time of every PTA meeting.

He watched her trade in her signature pink lipstick for her former signature red for the meetings and he watched her spend more time sitting in front of her mirror than she usually did. Everyone knew about Alice and FP's incomparable, intense, grand teenage romance. Cooper pride was something unlike anything else and thinking about the hold that FP Jones of all men kept on  _his_  wife made his blood boil. But, all in all,  _Hal_ had married her, she chose him. That was enough. If he had to put up with Alice's suppressed feelings surfacing once a month, he was more than happy to so long as the two of them would remain  _the Coopers – perfect in every way._

If these meetings taught Alice anything, it was that, though her life was everything she could have hoped for as a woman born on the wrong side of Riverdale, she was greatly unsatisfied.  _Happy_  was a word that she had discarded about the same time she discarded FP and the Serpents. But  _happy_  was something that she was perfectly fine with trading in for  _perfect_. And, so long as her, Hal, Polly, and Betty were all smiling in their family photos for all to see, she was successful.

FP also appreciated the PTA meetings, if for no other reason than to witness firsthand just how miserable Alice was. It wasn't as if he enjoyed seeing her unhappy – despised it, actually – but watching her familiar insecurity come forth in the superior attitude that she tried her very hardest to display at least reminded him that she  _was_  suffering consequences that came with revealing her true turncoat colours.

She had been playing games with everyone since her childhood. She enjoyed putting her best foot forward even if it was only to step on anyone that she could. She held herself and the life that she had built at the highest esteem, and just loved to remind everyone of that. Something else that she clearly took great joy in was devaluing with her snarky words those who came from the Southside as if she had any right to do so.

The meetings only provided her with the perfect time and place to do so. The truth of the matter was that with every poison-laced comment she made to FP or Gladys about their lives on the other side of town came the true motivation behind the insult. That being the fact that, as much as she tried to deny it, the things that the Serpents said about her and the names that they called her truly got under her skin. She  _did_  care about what they thought of her, they were once her family, the only people who she would ever truly belong with, and none of them would probably bat an eye if she suddenly wound up dead.

So, what did she do to cover this pain? She continued to refer to the Southside and especially the Serpents as nothing more than scum on the bottom of her shoe. It was a childish game that they were all playing. It was a battle between an entire group of people and one powerful women who were both too proud to admit that they still had a tremendous amount of respect for each other.

They could never simply have a peaceful meeting; not if FP Jones and Alice Cooper were in the same room.

"I just don't think that my  _refined_  children should have to walk the same halls as those from the Southside who were born on the wrong side of the tracks and should have stayed there." She would say with a mock innocent shrug of her shoulders, careful not to look at the man who without a doubt would have something to say about her comment.

"If that were true, where exactly does that leave you, Alice?" FP would say from across the table as if on cue. His rebuttals were always so cool and collected, not to mention spot on, that no one ever saw him as a problem. No one except for  _Acid Queen Alice_ herself. After they had both got their snide comments in, Fred or Mary Andrews would typically step in as a buffer to redirect the conversation back to the true matter of PTA meetings.

And so it went. They were at each other's throats, that was only the way of the world. One moment they were arguing across the table and the next moment Alice was eating a strawberry provided as the communal snack by Sierra McCoy when she would feel a familiar gaze on her only to glace at FP to find his eyes darkened with desire that she so often sees. She would cast him a look as if to say, " _Can I help you with something, Mr. Jones?"_ and then they went back to fighting with only their eyes. They played the same old game over and over and over again but never seemed to get tired of it.

 

****

 

The fifth grade graduation awards ceremony and dance was the last PTA sponsored event that FP would attend until his son would run for student body president six years later. After that, his drinking would get the best of not only him, but his wife. When she left and took his daughter with her, FP no longer saw any reason to even try to keep up with the things that a  _normal_  father should. If he had failed, he had failed, there was no getting around it and there was nothing – in his mind – that he could do about it.

But, that night would always be filed away in his memories as one of the best before the very worst. Jughead Jones, his very own pride and joy, was up there standing beside Betty Cooper on a fold-up stage in the gymnasium of Riverdale High as they both received an award for being top of their English class.

Getting himself to the school that night didn't take anything like it usually would have. Hell, he hadn't even had a drink. He was looking forward to it; him and his boy were there to be positively recognized as opposed to demonized as trash from the Southside. It was a nice change, something that he could get used to if he wasn't careful. Milliseconds after entering the gymnasium, his son ran to where Betty stood with Archie, leaving his father alone to take in the scene. And he couldn't say that he was entirely disappointed with what he saw. Immediately, his gaze was drawn to the little blonde girl's mother, who he couldn't help but realize hadn't seemed to age a day since the two of them were staying out too late and getting into trouble in his old pickup truck.

Alice Cooper's radiance was always magnified by the smile that she wore. Though there were times that she had been reduced to a poisonous glare, she always tried to smile in company of those who could judge her in any way. But, FP knew better. He was one of the very few people who could differentiate between her superficially fabricated smile for the sake of her image, and the genuine smile that he sometimes caught glimpses of. It was rare, but it reminded him of their carefree teenage days. The days when they used to promise the world to each other before that world was ripped from their hands.

Tonight, she was wearing her true grin. It shouldn't have, but seeing it provided FP with a sensation that he could only describe as warm. He didn't know what evoked her naturally cheerful mood, but he also knew that her husband was nowhere to be seen, and  _that_  could have been a factor. The fact that his own wife was not on his arm tonight made for dangerous circumstances that both Alice and FP were always trying their hardest to avoid.

Alice felt him standing behind her but refused to speak first. Her pride had usually prevented her from doing so. FP knew that he was slightly  _too_ close to deem their upcoming encounter as casual or even friendly but seeing her in that pale blue dress prompted him to throw caution to the wind. He knew that blue was her favourite colour, and it was also his favourite colour to see her in. It brought out the brightness of her eyes, the gold in her hair, the glow in her skin, not to mention the fact that this particular dress flattered her curves in ways that he would readily admit.

"Where's your  _husband_ , Alice." His voice could almost be deemed teasing as he finally spoke, causing Alice to raise an eyebrow and slowly turn to face the man who was the physical embodiment of the largest skeleton in her closet. No one around them even gave any thought to the lack of distance between FP and Alice as they spoke to each other, they were used to it. They had grown up seeing the two of them in love and wild, it didn't seem out of the ordinary.

" _Business trip_." She said solidly, her eyes basically  _daring_  the man before her to comment further. "Where's your  _wife_ , FP?" She mimicked both his tone and his prior question in such a familiar way that it evoked the slightest of chuckles from FP.

"Family reunion in Ohio." Not that he owed her an explanation of any kind, he wanted to add.

Alice scoffed, "And are  _you_  not  _family_?"

FP raised an eyebrow of his own at her curiosity. "No way in hell would Jughead miss his big day." Noticing the slight confusion in Alice's eyes, he continued. "He thinks this might be the only award that he ever wins."

" _Forgive_  my inquisitiveness," she said, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm, "this just doesn't seem like your scene, _Forsythe_ ,"

Now, he really did laugh. Alice thought that she was so good at giving off exactly the persona that she wanted to but, to him, she would always be completely transparent. "Don't act like you're not happy to see me, Alice."

The woman in front of him narrowed her eyes as Alice walked away from her, he had clearly gotten the best of their encounter – as he usually did.

 

****

 

He had to admit, there was more to his pride upon watching Jughead receive his award that simple gratification for his child. Seeing his son up there right alongside Betty Cooper felt like some kind of poetic justice. It had to be killing Alice, to know that her daughter was only as good as his son or that his son was just as good as her daughter. Isn't that what she was trying to avoid? She wanted a better life for her children, but was she really providing any more than he was? With the both of them up there on that stage, the question had to be asked.

But, when FP searched the crowd for a look at Alice's face, expecting her to have taken on a sour expression, he was surprised to witness that same old genuine smile from their youth. He knew her better than she knew herself, and therefore he knew that she was feeling no ulterior bitterness in that moment. She was happy for her daughter and for his son, that was the bottom line. And it was for that reason that FP was suddenly forced to remember that she was  _not_  the devil incarnate, as his Serpents had taken to calling her. He was almost shocked by himself to realize that he had clearly begun to believe that she was nothing more than a traitor and a disgruntled former gang member who was set out to live the best life that she could.

She was just a woman. She was a mother who loved her children, she was a suffering wife living with a husband for whom she couldn't possibly feel any legitimate love, she came from a broken home on the wrong side of the tracks, she was not evil. She had made some selfish choices that disregarded the wellbeing and emotion of others, she brought the hate that the Serpents gave her on herself, but she was also privately unhappy with where her decisions had landed her. It was mainly because of this clandestine insecurity that she ran her mouth about how great her life was and how trashy the Southside was.

FP couldn't deny the sense of self-respect he was awarded with as the other parents came up to  _him_  to congratulate Jughead's award. As if they were saying he did a good job of raising an intelligent kid, something that he had never expected to hear. The men shook his hand or clapped him on the back, the women offered hugs and chaste kisses on cheeks, and that's when FP realized that, no matter who he was or the mistakes that he would continuously make, when it came to his son, he knew that he had done something right. Jughead would forever be a source of pride,  _one_  thing that he could say he had at least a small hand in shaping to success.

After Penelope Blossom, of all people, had finished congratulating FP on his son's award, she stepped aside to reveal Alice Cooper, standing in front of him with a rather humbled look on her face. He raised his eyebrows teasingly, but Alice didn't waver as she stepped closer to award him with a congratulatory hug just as her friends had done before her. Without a doubt, this embrace was different than the ones before. This one, with  _this_  woman, was electric. When Alice realized that this was the first time that she found herself in FP's strong, safe, familiar arms since her wedding day, and before then since her senior homecoming, she should have tensed and grown rigid. Instead, she had to remind herself to refrain from practically melting.

With her head still on his shoulder and his hands on her back, Alice spoke softly. "Congratulations, FP." Pulling away from each other, but not so much as to break their contact, they both leaned in to kiss the other on the cheek. Nothing about the situation they found themselves in was unusual, Alice was simply doing exactly what the other women had done in order to express their felicitations. What wasn't quite normal was the fact that, while the two of them were all too familiar with bestowing kisses upon the other, FP nearly forgot to aim for her cheek and ended up placing a kiss in the very corner of her lips. Had he not remembered that they were in the present and been able to shift ever so slightly at the last minute, their lips would have met entirely as they had done so many times before.

FP realized his mistake, but it took Alice a moment to do the same. She pulled back slowly with a serene smile on her face – how right it all felt. But, when the chills that she got suddenly overcame her, her eyes grew wide and it took all her might to refrain from shouting, "What did we just do?" Alice revelled in the blush that sprang to her cheeks for a moment as his gaze shifted intensely between each of her own eyes. Before any more words could be spoken, their children were both before them, proudly showing off the certificates that they had been awarded.

Alice and FP both stepped away from each other and back into the facade of the lives that they now lived as they congratulated their respective kids and let the night continue. Even so, the moment that they left each other's embrace, the room felt about ten times colder and they each felt just as empty inside. One look into Jughead's intelligent eyes and FP knew that it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for him to still be pining after a former flame while his children's mother already had one foot out the door thanks to his  _lowlife_  ways.

He knew it was bad when even Gladys, a woman from the Southside who had more than her fair share of her own dark demons, couldn't handle the ways that FP chose to spend his days and nights. But, he never had been any good at saying the words that would make women stay.

After Archie and Reggie both won an award for their work on the track and field team that year, the awards portion of the night came to an end as the lights dimmed, music began, and the dance commenced. Both FP and Alice's names were down as chaperones for the night, so they weren't going anywhere. When she noticed an empty seat beside him, it took everything in her power to refrain herself from taking it. Instead, she sat a few tables away, though their eyes often met.

Alice took the rest of the night for herself and her daughter, something that she rarely did as projecting her reputation was often at the forefront of her mind and subsequent actions. Instead, she sat quietly and watched as young Betty enjoyed an evening with her friends. She watched as Betty and Kevin Keller filled up on junk food, she watched her invite Ethel Muggs to dance with her friends when the shy, frizzy-haired girl found herself alone, she watched Betty's demeanour grow dejected when Archie went off to dance with Cheryl Blossom without a glance back in her direction, and she watched as Jughead Jones timidly asked a heartbroken Betty for a dance when he saw how crushed she was.

Initially, Alice thought that the young boy's gesture was sweet, and she was thankful that he saved her daughter from a ruined night. But, then she realized that, if Jughead kept up his gentlemanly ways, it would be all too easy for Betty – the hopeless romantic – to really fall for him in the future. Just as Alice herself had done with his father. Alice was very open about the fact that her entire life goal was to prevent her daughters from making even remotely the same mistakes that she made in her youth.

She didn't want them to have to go through what it was like to run with the  _wrong_  crowd or grow up in dysfunctional homes. But if Jughead was anything like FP, he could provide Betty with a dangerously _real_ kind of love that she won't be able to defend herself against. A Serpent's world isn't an easy one, and one that Alice didn't want either of her daughters to ever witness. She cast a frantic look towards FP, whose eyes were already on her, but there was nothing either of them could do about it. Betty and Jughead were just two young friends dancing together, there shouldn't have been any more to it than that. But, knowing Alice, she was conjuring up horror stories in her head.

FP felt differently, he wondered if it would be so bad that their children ever entered into a romantic relationship or even just remained close friends. Alice was so worried about her and FP's mistakes being replicated, but FP himself knew that his son could a much better job of it that he did. Maybe, just maybe, Jughead could do the things that FP couldn't, maybe he could do it  _right_. Whatever the case may be, it was clear that Alice and FP had both done a poor job of getting over each other. The wounds were still fresh, even if two whole decades had come and went.

Alice's biggest fear remained Betty or Polly living out her dark past, experiencing the heartbreak that she once had, or being labelled the same things that she had been in her youth. Better to be living a respected lie than in bed with a snake. FP clung to their relationship just as Alice did, though neither of them realized it nor admitted it. If Jughead ever found the true love that he had with Alice, FP would make damn sure that he would never let it slip through his fingers as he had done.

Him and Alice were in the past, they had both left each other behind. She was with Hal, he was with Gladys, and they both had families. Their story was over. But, what FP wouldn't give to feel even a fraction of the love that he felt for Alice in his own marriage. And what Alice wouldn't give to go back to a time when she still held in her grasp the real thing she ever experienced.

 

****

 

"I'll have them back before nine." Mary Andrews said cheerfully before following her husband out the school doors. Now alone, FP and Alice watched their children excitedly climb into the back of the Andrews family car as the five of them made their way to Pop's for celebratory milkshakes. Alice smiled to herself, glad that her youngest daughter had such a stable group of friends, even if they consisted of Jughead Jones and Archie Andrews. At least Kevin Keller was someone that Alice could approve of, and she was glad to see him sitting next to Betty in the back of the car.

FP glanced in Alice's direction with a smirk before making his way through the doors to the outside so that he could finally get out of the school once and for all, but Alice stopped him before he walked away just yet. "FP," he turned to see her now standing behind him on the stairs with a strange look on her face. What he didn't know, was that her expression was produced by the strong desire she had to refuse to let FP Jones slip away from her definitively. "Jughead's a smart kid." She took him by surprise by speaking in a genuinely humble voice, "This won't be the only award that he wins." And she was right, for in a few years' time, Jughead Jones would win what he considered to be the greatest award of all time - Alice Cooper's youngest daughter.

Alice grinned up at her from the solid ground below almost devilishly, "Goodnight, Alice." He said with a familiarly suggestive edge to his voice.

"Goodnight, FP." Alice said with a similar smile on her face before FP turned away from her, got into his truck, and drove away, leaving her standing alone on the concrete steps of Riverdale High just as he was sure he had done twenty years ago. The irony was blinding. Alice had always been and would always be terrified of her daughters following in her footsteps, but maybe Alice was already in the middle of making her same mistakes all over again.

 

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That night had confirmed his suspicions. Alice Cooper was still the same person that she had always been, she had just grown very accustomed to wearing a mask. The way that she acted during rare occasions that Hal wasn't around was much more tolerable, even if she still took any opportunity to polish her image. FP missed her, it was plain and simple. But it was nothing more than an unfortunate circumstance that nothing that could be done about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Bad Habit" by the Kooks.


	13. A Broken Wing

> _"She'd tell him about her dreams, he'd just shoot them down."_

Time went by and life went on for the residents of Riverdale. Hermione was still off in New York doing God knows what, Alice and Hal Cooper worked alongside each other at the Riverdale Register printing off edition after edition of the daily newspaper, FP Jones became business partners with Fred Andrews in the construction business all the while continuing to run the Serpents, and Gladys Williams had become Gladys Jones when her and FP had gone down to town hall and signed a marriage contract. How romantic.

It was 2009 and the town of Riverdale was coming together for the celebration of an anniversary. Unlike the Coopers' celebrations, this wasn't a solely  _Northside_ event. Fred and Mary Andrews were friends to all, Northside and Southside alike, which was sure to make for an interesting scene. 

Meanwhile, the ring on Alice's finger had been weighing her down more than it ever had before.

> _Lord, he loved to make her cry._

Fred Andrews and Mary Maiden.

What everyone assumed to be Fred's post-Hermione rebound quickly turned into a relationship that rocked the halls of Riverdale High. From their senior prom to their wedding, and now to their tenth anniversary. The two of them just made sense; together, they were safe. They were alike, shared the same values and aspirations, and seemingly had nothing but love for one another. Unfortunately, many couples in Riverdale– _including_  Fred and Mary Andrews – were not all that they seemed. Or, rather, they were much more.

But, everyone so loved to pretend that things were picture perfect. Fred Andrews was _not_ still in love with Hermione Lodge, the Coopers were not fiening their love for each other, and the Joneses were doing just fine raising their two children. In reality, all was crumbling. It was days like today that they all put on a smiling face, secured their wedding bands around their fingers, and braced themselves for the storm that was their complicated adult lives.

Funny, they were all such rebellious teenagers though most of them had turned into well respected adults. Although, in the case of Alice Cooper, her newly polished image was nothing but counterfeit. In the beginning, no one bought her pristine attitude complete with the picture perfect life, but after so long, they all began to forget who she really was. They all had a part to play.

Alice was no longer the wild teenage girl who got arrested on the night of her sixteenth birthday for taking the school van for a joy ride, Fred was no longer the lovestruck boy who would do anything for Hermione. Gladys was no longer the unruly Southside Serpent, she was a mother supposedly doing her very best under trying circumstances. FP hadn't changed and neither had Mary or Hal, but they were also guilty of pretending that they were happy with the decisions that they had made.

In Riverdale, it was as if everyone had grown up overnight. After high school graduation, they were all ready to settle down with whomever they'd chosen to spend the rest of their lives with, get married, and start families, never looking back on their pasts again. And, perhaps that was where they all went wrong.

> _"You're crazy for believing you'll ever leave the ground, he said. Only angels know how to fly."_

Now, Fred and Mary were usually pretty docile people. They didn't like anything big or shmaltzy, especially if it was in their honour. But, they'd both agreed that they would have to do something special for their tenth anniversary. It went unspoken that this was because they both feared that it may be their last. In reality, it was  _not_ their last anniversary, but one of the last.

But, maybe it should have been. In hindsight, they realized now that calling it quits earlier on could have prevented years of painful couples' therapy sessions, endless nights filled to the brim with harsh arguments, and a very conflicted young boy named Archie Andrews. But, one cannot change the past; they can only try to fix the mistakes that they once made.

The party had been months in the planning. Of course, with the help of Alice Cooper who not only loved being a part of anything that had to do with organizing an event, but who also just couldn't help but stick her nose into her old high school friends' business. The guest list was long and complicated. For the first time in years, nearly everyone from their high school was going to be back in one condensed setting – it would surely make for some  _interesting_  outcomes. This was no PTA meeting, and this was certainly no sombre event.

Fred and Mary pitched a venue tent in their backyard on the sunny Saturday afternoon, set up their tables, brought out the drinks and various appetizers, and rolled out the old linoleum boards that they had decided would make the perfect dance floor. They had no band, only a brand new stereo and very old homemade disks filled with the songs of their youth. They had their back doors open so people could come and go inside and outside as they pleased, the sun was shining but not scorching, everything seemed to be falling into place.

Fred and Mary's respective families were the first to arrive, even Artie showed up – wheelchair and all. Little Archie – annoyed that his mother fitted him with a bowtie – passed his time running around with his cousins as none of the kids could be bothered to socialize as the adults were doing. The Blossoms were the next to arrive, Fred had objected to their attendance at first, but Mary insisted that it was time their families buried the hatchet, even if it was only for one evening. Surprisingly, Clifford and Penelope didn't appear to be out for blood on that particular day. Instead, they seemed to have their hands full with their two children who both seemed to be in rather fussy moods. It was nice to be reminded that they may be Blossoms - the richest family in Riverdale, but when it came down to it, they were just like everybody else.

The majority of the party had already arrived when the Coopers made their grand entrance. Their youngest daughter Betty immediately let go of her mother's hand to run over to where Archie was running around, Hal came armed with a handful of flowers as a gift, and Alice was trying in vain to straighten the blue ribbon that her oldest daughter Polly wore in her long blonde hair that was destined to get tangled as she joined the rest of the kids in their games as soon as her mother's watchful eye was not trained on her. Betty and Polly were dressed in matching dresses with puffed up sleeves, Hal wore a habitual grey suit, and Alice wore a floral summer dress that reached the floor. They looked perfect – as per usual.

A stunning contrast to the Jones family who arrived about an hour later. The celebration was officially in full swing; drinks were being topped up, people were taking turns choosing tapes for the stereo, the kids had set up a road hockey game out on the street, and dusk was upon them all. The Jones hadn't showed up to something on time in many years, if ever. Today, it was due to the fact that Gladys suddenly had no interest in the event, but also did not want to have to stay home and take care of the kids by herself. But, FP was not only Fred's business partner, but his best friend. He  _couldn't_  miss this event. Eventually, he showed up, his entire family in tow.

Their arrival didn't catch many eyes, but there was a certain woman among the party who could never seem to help but notice FP Jones when he made an appearance. It was as if she could sense his arrival in her bones, and that was something that still terrified her to this very day. Though she never ceased the conversation that she was having with Melinda Mantle, Alice Cooper's blue eyes inadvertently met familiar brown ones from across the yard. She didn't even care that he'd caught her attention and he knew it, she would be damned if she denied the fact that FP had always looked good in a suit.

Because of the diversity of the crowd and the balance that hung by a thread, Fred had personally talked to certain members of his party days ago. Suggesting in separate conversation that FP avoid Alice to prevent disaster and urging Alice to avoid Penelope Blossom, FP Jones, and many others to prevent fallout. She had always been one of those people who enjoyed creating chaos so long as it was at the expense of others. Though they had both felt rather targeted by Fred's suggestions, they both followed through. Alice venomous comments about Penelope were not said to her face that night, and her and FP managed to maintain a safe distance between each other.

This was not hard to do, eventually, they both had their hands full. Just before the sun went down, everything fell apart. Though they were celebrating their anniversary, Fred and Mary had spent the entire evening apart, but that wasn't the issue. They knew that it was only what they had to do in order to avert an argument on the day that they were supposed to be celebrating their marriage. But, they weren't the only couple with the same idea.

Gladys and FP had realized long ago that their marriage may have been built on a delusion of convenience. Of course, they had plenty of things in common, but that didn't mean that they had that special spark that romance needed to last. Unfortunately, by the time they both realized that, their son Jughead was already in the picture. And if there was one thing to be said about Serpents, it was that they always did the right thing. Even if it wasn't what was right for them.

> _"And with a broken wing, she still sings. She keeps an eye over the sky."_

When Alice noticed that Hal had been refilling his glass more than usual that night, she gave him his distance and told Polly and Betty that it was time for the two of them to walk across the street and head home for the night. Hal wasn't a drinker, but when he did, it was never pretty. At first, Alice had thought that she was the only one fiening romantic love for her partner for the sake of a marriage and a spotless future. As it turned out, her husband was doing just the same. It was when Hal Cooper was on his fourth or fifth scotch that his true repressed feelings began to surface, and that was the last thing that Alice needed that evening.

If there was one thing that the Joneses were good at, it was avoiding public spectacles. Unlike the Coopers, who were sometimes famous for just that. Tonight, when Gladys pulled FP aside to inform him that she was sick of the Northside and their privilege and that she was taking Jughead and newborn Jellybean home whether he accompanied them or not, FP simply shrugged and let her go. Apparently, he had always been excellent at letting women walk out of his life, why stop now? The thing about Gladys was that he truly was too nonchalant about her and their relationship to bother putting up a fight. If he could avoid a catastrophe by remaining silent, he would. Little did he know that doing just that may have lead to his demise.

Deciding to walk through Fred's house to get back to the backyard was his first mistake. He had been searching his suit pockets for the metal flask that he desperately craved in that moment but tensed when he realized that it was in his jacket, which he had discarded God knows where due to the pleasant heat of the evening. He wasn't eavesdropping on whatever scene was unfolding in Fred's kitchen, but before turning the corner to make his presence known, he couldn't help but pause and wait for the right moment.

This wasn't the first time that FP had witnessed an epic fight between Alice and Hal Cooper. Apparently, he just couldn't avoid them. From what he gathered, Alice had been in the kitchen by herself when Hal confronted her, slurring his words in a slight way that FP was all too familiar with.

"Don't you think you've maybe had enough, Hal?" Alice suggested rather cautiously. There were things that Hal had full control over in their relationship, but she'd never been scared of him. When he drank though, she did grow wary. If all Hal needed to take his manipulations to the next level was a bit of confidence, alcohol would certainly help with that.

"Don't you think  _I've_  had enough?" He boasted with a tone of incredulity to his patronizing voice. "Don't you think  _you've_  had enough,  _Alice?_  Enough of this mediocre  _facade_?"

"Hal, please." Alice said, and FP could hear her heels on the tile floor as she undoubtedly took a step back from her inebriated husband. "You're shouting."

" _Who cares_? Maybe it's time they all knew!" He waved his arms, gesturing towards the party outside. "That no matter how hard you try you'll always be  _Alice Smith_ , the Southside  _miscreant_  who can pretend to fit in here all she wants but will always  _belong_  on the  _wrong_  side of the tracks. That you're not all as polished and perfect as you pretend to be. That the  _only_  reason  _anyone_  thinks highly of you is because of  _me_. That while it may seem like you rule the Cooper household, it's  _my_  name, and it's  _my_  control."

"Hal –" Alice's voice was wavering now and barely above a whisper. Though her husband had never laid an abusive hand on her, the words that he spat certainly did the trick. She'd hoped that eventually he would stop using her past against her, but apparently that just wasn't in his blood. He interrupted, but she didn't really have much of an argument prepared.

"We shouldn't  _be_  here,  _Alice!_  We shouldn't be  _anywhere!_   _We_  were never  _meant_  to happen! Do you even  _realize_  just how lucky you got? I wasn't supposed to marry you, I was supposed to marry _Penelope Blossom_  until you came along and got  _everything_  that you've ever wanted!" With those final words, Hal Cooper stormed out of the Andrews house, failing to even notice FP Jones who now stood in the threshold between the kitchen and the hallway.

Alice and FP hadn't been on friendly terms in over a decade, but even FP winced at Hal's particularly hurtful words. It seemed that he was quite the expert on knowing how to hit his wife where it hurts. FP couldn't even  _imagine_  wanting to act that way to  _anyone_ , let alone Alice Cooper. He didn't say anything, even as Alice noticed his presence and inhaled sharply. She wiped a miserable tear from her eye and, for a split second, it looked as though she was about to give in and wrap herself in FP's familiar and protective arms, but she steeled herself. She glared at him in warning, but did not speak as she followed in Hal's footsteps and made her way out onto the street. She didn't want Betty and Polly to have to bear witness to their father's intoxicated state.

To her relief, she realized that her daughters were still playing hockey in the street with Archie and his cousins. Just this once, she was glad that they'd disobeyed her orders. She watched their demeanour change suddenly, as if they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. As Polly began to explain, Alice simply waved her away. "It's fine, girls." Her voice still seemed rather fragile, but she was hoping no one noticed. "Wait for me to come get you and then we'll go home."

It wasn't exactly late, but she liked her kids to be in bed early. Unfortunately for her rules and regulations, she wanted to give Hal adequate time to either fall asleep or sober up before her and the girls went into the belly of the beast. She tried to keep her head held high as she walked back through Fred's house and out into the back yard, but she was worried that the glassiness of her eyes would give her away. For once, she was glad to see that everyone's attention was turned off of her as the dance floor was now alive with happy couples swaying to old rock ballads that reminded them all of a simpler time.

While Fred should have been dancing with his wife, he was using this time to catch up with FP, mainly simply as an excuse to avoid that dance. After his fight with Gladys, FP had been itching to get some alcohol in his system. But, after witnessing Hal and Alice's fight, he felt the need to stay as far away from that particular poison as possible. He did not wish to be reduced to the likes of Hal Cooper, he was better than that. And, while he assured himself that this was not the case, it had  _everything_  to do with Alice Cooper. From the start, he knew that Hal was better than him in many ways, but he was not better than him when it came to Alice. She wasn't supposed to be with him, FP knew it but Hal had said it tonight.

Why did so many of FP's thoughts constantly revolve around Alice Cooper? He often wondered that himself, refusing to admit that he already knew the answer. He didn't know what it was about her or what it was about them, but he just couldn't seem to fall out of love with her. Somewhere deep down, he must have known that it was all perfectly mutual.

By the time the third song passed, Alice realized that she recognized the cd that was playing – Fred had made it himself during the summer before their senior year. She also realized that she'd been sitting alone for three whole songs. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. She didn't want to stay and be miserable here at Mary and Fred's celebration of love, but she didn't feel quite ready to go home and face whatever battles hid behind the red door of their home.

When a new song began to play and she instantly recognized the opening chords, she had just about made up her mind – she needed to leave. It was all just a little bit too much for her. Too much high school. Too much  _FP Jones_ – who just so happened to now be standing in front of her with his hand outstretched in her direction. He almost grinned at the expression on her face. Alice Cooper had built a reputation for herself that stated that  _nothing_  took her by surprise, she was in control. But, it always seemed like he could manage to catch her off guard, and that satisfied him to his core.

He was asking her for a dance without using his words. The daring look on his face but solid certainty in his eyes threw Alice for a loop. She narrowed her own eyes, and it was as if he could hear her thoughts. They'd always been good at that. Right now, she was asking him if he was crazy. He opposed this silent statement by shrugging and glancing towards the dance floor where Fred and Mary had  _finally_  begun to dance with each other. "It's our song, Alice."

He stated so calmly and surely, as if because of that fact, they simply  _had_  to dance together. Alice tried her hardest to hold her ground, but it only took a second for her to realize that she didn't want to. There was no reason for her to fight what she really wanted, not tonight, not anymore. Tomorrow, she could go back to her fictitious world of breakfasts and pink bows and perfect marriages. Tonight, she needed the love of her life to wrap his arms around her, even if it was for the very last time.

She let her eyes go raw as she cautiously took his hand and let him lead her out onto the dance floor. They fell into such a familiar sway that it was as if time had not stood still, but transported them back seventeen years earlier. Back before the marriages, before the money or lack there of, before the bad habits had the ability to ruin lives. Before it all went to hell.

FP held Alice's hand in his as they danced and couldn't help himself from tracing his fingers over her own only to get them caught on her rock of a wedding ring. It should have reminded him that they were making a mistake that they would later have to pay the consequences for, but instead it only made him want to rip the damn thing off her finger and take her away from anything and anyone who dared to hurt her. His other hand rested on her waist, in the familiar crook of her back that he had missed through the years.

As for Alice, she was allowing herself to give in completely. She'd let her one hand go limp, knowing that FP would hold it up for her, and her other hand rested on his chest, near where she'd lain her head by his shoulder. With their entire bodies pressed up against each other in such a tristful and intimate way, it was anything but appropriate for two people who were married to others. But, they didn't care. They were lost in the music, lost in the moment, and lost in each other as they clung to one another and continued to sway slowly, everything falling back into place even if it was just for one song.

> _"Man, you ought to see her fly."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "A Broken Wing" by Martina McBride.


	14. I'll Be

> _"I'll be your crying shoulder."_

Twenty-three years after the summer that began it all and four marriages later, it was time for another reunion.

Unfortunately, the circumstances for such a reunion were not particularly fortunate. When Artie Andrews passed away, a big part of Riverdale banded together. Fred's friends were there for him just as their children were there for his young son Archie. It was a tough time for everyone, Artie was a familiar face around town and had been respected by many of both Fred and Archie's friends. Everyone knew how important Fred's father was to him, so it was clear that he needed their support more than ever.

No one's lives had gone according to plan, that was clear. Except maybe Alice Cooper's; she boasted about her perfectly polished life and reputation to anyone who would listen. But, that was only on the surface. She claimed that she'd  _always_  wanted that life, but there had been a time that all she ever wanted was a future with a certain Serpent King living south of the train tracks.

But, the funeral was something that differences had to be set aside for. Mary and Fred had split about a year ago, Gladys had _very_ recently left FP, and Hiram Lodge - Hermione's rich husband and high school acquaintance - was currently on trial in New York for fraud and embezzlement. That would only be the first charge of many for that shady businessman. No one imagined that they'd be there, but the failures of the present were only the repercussions of the past. The couples that were never supposed to marry would never last. The changes that were never supposed to happen would never end well.

When word spread of Artie's passing, the old group banded together. In times of crisis or sadness, it's important to lean on each other. With that in mind, Mary Andrews came home to lend her estranged husband a shoulder to cry on, FP Jones sobered himself up for a night, Alice Cooper took organization matters into her own hands knowing that Fred was in no state to do so, and even Hermione Lodge rushed back to Riverdale to offer her condolences and support. FP and Alice may have their grudges against each other, Mary may not have wanted to return to Riverdale, and Hermione may still have been hurting from the past, but Fred Andrews had  _always_  been there for them whenever they needed. He was a good man in a storm, he was a rock that people had used to stabilize themselves time and again. Now, it was their turn to repay that debt.

The service itself was set to be intimate, the wake was a larger reception, one in which the majority of the town attended. But, the funeral only consisted of nine people. Fred, Mary and Archie Andrews, Hermione Lodge, Alice and Betty Cooper, FP and Jughead Jones, Sierra and Myles McCoy, Tom and Kevin Keller, and Pastor Craig. Hal and Polly Cooper had been on the invite list, but their attendance actually sparked an argument within the Cooper household.

"You and Betty can go, and I'll go with Polly to her parent-teacher interview, I don't know what's so hard to understand about that?" Hal had said, pacing around the kitchen as Alice sat and practically begged him to accompany her to the funeral service.

"Would it be so hard to just postpone the meeting with Polly's teacher so that you could come?" She spoke desperately, but Hal couldn't see the importance of Artie Andrews in his wife's life.

"I don't see the point in that, Alice." Hal shut her down, "I barely knew the guy, it doesn't bother me if I'm not there."

"That's not what this is  _about_ , Hal. I don't care if you didn't know him,  _I_   _did!_ " Alice wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of argument. No matter what she said, Hal could never understand that sometimes she just needed to be supported, to feel  _safe_. He thought that he had done his job as her husband after she'd made a respected name for herself. He never did any of the real _husband_  things. Eventually, Alice stopped asking him to be there for her – he never came through anyway. She realized that she never wanted  _him_  to be there for her, he wasn't the right person.

"I'm asking you to come for  _me,_  to be there for me!" She accidentally let a tear escape and it dripped down her cheek.

This evoked a roll of Hal's impatient eyes, he always hated when she showed such emotion. He thought her to overreact. "I'm not about to cancel a meeting that's important to the academic success of our daughter just because you're stuck dwelling on the past." Hal's words were almost barbaric – heartless.

She was not  _dwelling_  on the past; her good friend's  _father_  had just passed away. And she certainly was not  _jeopardizing_  her daughter's academic standing; a parent-teacher interview could  _easily_  be rescheduled. Besides, Polly was in  _middle school,_ what difference would it really make? But, Alice knew it was a losing fight. "Fine, Hal." And that was the last word on the subject.

Which is why Alice found herself without the support of her  _loving_  husband on that solemn day. Whenever Hal made her feel small, it usually pushed Alice to build herself up to those around her. Today was different, even she knew that. She'd arrived at the small church before even the Andrews family, as it was her who had organized the funeral knowing that Fred needed this time to mourn his father, not meet with preachers and find a caterer.

Her and Betty, who was slowly but surely growing into a fine young girl with her mother's blonde hair and her father's green eyes, had taken matters into their own hands. They made dozens of desserts for the intimate reception afterwards, they went to the chapel early on the morning of the funeral to set up tables and chairs, and they'd even printed off memorial cards for those in attendance.

> _"I'll be love suicide."_

The day of the funeral was gloomy. Rain was coming down outside in sheets and the church was cold. As the pastor lead with opening words, the attending guests were solemn. Fred Andrews sat at the front of the room with Mary on one side of him and Archie on the other. Beside Mary was Hermione. Behind them, sat Alice and Betty, and behind them sat the McCoy family and Tom and Kevin Keller. FP and Jughead didn't arrive until the sermon was already five minutes in, but no one was expecting anything else. Actually, they were just all hopeful that FP would show up at all.

Alice realized that Jughead had sat at the end of her pew before she'd even heard the door open. Glancing behind herself, she then saw FP himself leaning in the doorframe hesitantly. As fate would have it, the only seat left was beside her. By now, Fred had turned to the newcomer, and the old friends nodded at each other in understanding. FP didn't say a word, he simply moved past Alice and took the seat beside her as the service continued.

To everyone's credit, they all came to an understanding that day. Mary did not say a word to Fred, knowing that arguments would be on the tips of their tongues. She simply squeezed his hand as she sat beside him. Hermione kept to herself, wanting to avoid hazardous confrontation. Even Alice refrained from targeting FP by telling him that it was extremely poor taste to arrive late to a funeral, though she so badly wanted to. Fred didn't need any of that today.

Though their toxic thoughts were still on their minds, nobody voiced any concern. FP in particular was having trouble with his strong grudge against one person in particular. Just last weekend, Alice Cooper had published a spite filled article disavowing the Southside Serpents, once again stating that  _they_  were what was wrong with Riverdale and the only thing holding their fine town back from the prestigious potential that it had. This was nothing unusual, but the article had been particularly venomous, and had mentioned FP's name in particular. He didn't know how much longer he could stand for it.

He had always tried to remind himself that Alice Cooper was still  _herself_ , no matter how she was forced to act for the Northside. He always thought that he knew the real reason behind her vile words, and not hold too much against her. But recently, he was inches away from being convinced that she was nothing more than the pretentious Northside bitch incapable of feeling emotion that the Serpents deemed her.

He was shaken from his bitter thoughts to realize that he'd missed a good half of Fred's obituary. He tuned in just in time to realize that his friend was breaking down, and his cracking voice would no longer allow him to go on with his speech. To his surprise, it was not Hermione Lodge nor even Mary Andrews who went to Fred's support, it was Alice Cooper. She was the only one who hadn't hesitated. The only one who didn't take a beat to consider whether or not they should go up to him given their rough history.

When Alice sighed solemnly and got up from her seat to join Fred at the front of the room, FP was forced into remembering that she was  _not_  evil. Far from it, in fact. She was  _bruised_. She had been hurt by the past and was clearly still suffering. Her pain and longing only came out in the form of positively poisonous words aimed at the people who once offered her a home when she had none.

Fred let out a shaky breath and clung to Alice when she offered him her open arms, a tear of her own streaking her cheek. Though the rest of the room could not hear whatever words of support Alice was calmly whispering to her old friend, FP could tell that she was saying all the right things as Fred nodded along. Mary and Hermione cast a somber look to each other - it was painful for the both of them to see the man that they loved hurting so badly - and FP ruffled Jughead's hair during the momentary pause in the sermon.

When it was clear that Fred couldn't go on with his dialogue, the funeral was almost cut short were it not for twelve-year-old Archie Andrews standing from his seat and moving to join his father and neighbour at the front of the room. "I can read it if you want, Dad."

The awe that came around the room was unanimous as Fred nodded and squeezed his valiant son's shoulder before moving back to his seat. Alice helped lower the microphone for the red-haired boy and then took her seat as well, pulling her black wrap tighter around herself due to the chill in the air.

When she returned to her seat, the tears on her cheeks did not go unnoticed by FP and he didn't even hesitate before taking her hand in his. Upon feeling such an innocently familiar sense of security, Alice inhaled rather sharply before sighing in relief and holding tight to his hand for the rest of the service.

FP hadn't even  _seen_  Alice in over two years – not even a glimpse of her on the streets. But, in that moment, it was as if nothing had changed at all.

> _"I'll be better when I'm older."_

After the sermon, people milled around the chapel for a bit, sending their love and condolences to the Andrews family. Things were tense for many different reasons. Certain people in that cramped stone church were not on very good terms, that mixed with the shared tragedy made for a rather unpleasant environment.

Fred hadn't spoke to Hermione yet, but when he'd initially walked into the church and seen her sitting there, right front and centre, beside his  _wife,_ of all people, his heart stopped. He hadn't invited her, he doubted that Mary had, but somehow Hermione Lodge had caught wind of his father's passing and flew all those miles to be at his side. He had to admit, that spoke measures.

She wasn't there on some kind of vendetta rampage, she wasn't there to rub salt in the wound, she hadn't brought her wealthy husband to laugh in his face. She simply sat there quietly next to Mary, wiping at her eyes every now and then, and mourning the death of Artie Andrews among old friends. Now, the room was abuzz with solemn chatter. Alice, Mary, and Sierra stood off to one side, reminiscing over the old photo board that had been made up of pictures of Artie, finding their younger selves among the old film photographs. FP, Miles, and Tom stood off to the other side, talking in their own little circle about this and that. Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Kevin were filling up on the fresh baked treats.

Hermione Lodge stood alone near the back of the room, feeling utterly out of place. She couldn't exactly stroll right up to the other women and join in their conversation. It had been too long, she felt as though she was intruding. But, unbeknownst to her, Fred had been standing a few feet away, leaning up against the wall, watching her. Somehow, she was the  _one_ person who'd managed to not only take his mind off of his father's passing, but also made him feel  _young_ again just by looking at her.

"Hermione Lodge." He finally said, and she turned her head to see him standing nearby. She smiled, she couldn't help it. Hearing his voice, standing near him, looking into his chocolate eyes, it made her feel things that she'd forgotten she even  _could._ With that reminiscent smile on her face, she took a few steps closer to him so that they could possibly have a proper conversation. "I can't say I was expecting to see you here."

She wanted to scream. The fact that Fred still looked at her the way that he had twenty-three years ago, the way that he still made her feel, it was as if nothing had changed, and that frustrated Hermione something terrible. "I..." she began, before staring at him solemnly and placing a comforting hand on his chest, "... I know how much your dad meant to you, Fred. How much he meant to all of us." Her voice cracked, and it tugged on Fred's already fragile heartstrings. "I wanted to be here, I  _had_ to be here, for you." She finished with a whisper.

Fred grasped the hand that she had laid on his chest and pulled her into him to kiss her forehead as Hermione shed a tear.

From across the room, Mary Andrews was staring daggers, but Alice managed to keep her occupied. Alice too had noticed the scene unfolding between the two former lovers who used to be her best friend, and she cast a look in FP's direction to find his eyes already on her, he was thinking the same. For the sake of old friends and lost love, Alice did her best to keep Mary talking so that she couldn't do what her marriage privileges allowed her to and interrupt the fragile interlude between Fred Andrews and Hermione Lodge.

"Well," Fred said, pulling away and tapping under her chin, "I, for one, am glad you came, Hermione." She nodded following his statement, but now found her heart too full of conflict to speak any more. Instead, he took her by surprise by sparking up more of a conversation. "So, how have you been?" He asked, out of genuine concern and curiosity for his old high school love.

Hermione looked up at him again, a new sparkle in her eyes that he'd never seen before. "Good,  _good._ I have a daughter." Just the mention of that little raven-haired princess brought a smile to Hermione's face.

"Do you?" Fred began to grin, seeing her happy put his worries at ease.

"Yes,  _Veronica._ She just turned twelve."

Fred nodded. "So did Archie." What were the odds?

"And, uh..." Fred began cautiously, "... and  _Hiram?"_ Hermione's eyes snapped up to meet his, how much did he know? "I heard about..." He left his sentence unfinished, she could easily fill in the blanks.

"Yes, well..." Hermione shifted uncomfortably. Marrying Hiram Lodge may have been something that she regretted with nearly her whole body, but he gave her Veronica, and that was something that she wouldn't trade for the world. "... we're taking each day as it comes." It was bound to be a long trial, that would likely consume Hiram's entire family. The next year or so would not be pretty. And once that man inevitably found himself guilty of the charges and behind bars, things could only get worse.

"Are  _you_ okay?" Fred asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. No one had asked her that since the charges came up. Not Hiram, not Hiram's family, certainly not her own family, since they'd all but cut ties years ago. The truth was that she  _wasn't_ okay, but she had to be for the sake of her daughter.

But, it was a ridiculous question to be asked on a day like today. Hermione gave him a look of understanding, Fred Andrews would always be the best man that she knew, there was no doubt about that in her mind. She rubbed his shoulder, " _Please_ ," trying to give him a reassuring smile, she began to move with him in the direction of the other guests, "don't worry about me, Freddy."

But, he did. He would always worry about Hermione Gomez. Even while mourning his father, even while separating from his wife, even while comforting his son, even while firing his business partner and best friend, she was always lingering in the back of his mind.

There was nothing that could be done about feelings that were not destined to fade.

_"You're my survival, you're my living proof my love is alive and not dead."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.


	15. Cleopatra

> _"I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress."_

And thus brings us to the present. As complicated as Riverdale always was and would always be, the Jones and Cooper lives were rather uneventful.

FP had drunk away his wife and daughter four years ago, Alice had turned into the poisonous Northside bitch that she had made herself out to be, all was supposedly as it should be. The Southside lowlife and the Northside princess. That was only the standard for that damn town.

And everyone was on the run.

FP ran from those who held prejudice and hatred for him and his people and Alice was on the run from her past. Polly Cooper ran from the people who had hurt her, Gladys and Jellybean Jones ran from the contemptible life that they had been given, Betty Cooper ran from her own darkness, and Jughead Jones ran from pain. All the while, Alice also  _ran_  her life, or so she had thought for so long.

But, on the surface, Alice was stronger than ever. To anyone else, she had Hal wrapped around her finger, she had every aspect of Betty's life under control, she could keep an eye on all her neighbours through her big bay window and expose whoever she wanted in the Riverdale Register. Of course, there was the wild card -Polly.

To Alice's utmost horror, her teenage daughter was pregnant with her high school sweetheart's child, it was all too familiar, and it was  _exactly_  what Alice had been living to avoid for her children.

But, if what was done was done, there was nothing more that Alice could do about the pregnancy except cover its tracks. So, with some heavy prodding from her husband, Alice Cooper's daughter was presumed insane and sent off to live in the exact same group home that she had gone to when she was only a year older than Polly. Betty was left devastated without her sister and constantly asking questions, but if Alice was good at anything, it was deflecting. So, she continued to steel herself for the sake of her family's name.

Meanwhile, FP Jones was on a decades long downward spiral as he carried a flask wherever he went and took only odd and usually dangerous jobs around the Southside. His wife had left with his daughter, and only about two and a half years later, Jughead had decided he couldn't take any more of FP's bad decisions, so he moved out. Fifteen years old and living on the streets, it was far from ideal. But, then again, the Joneses never had been considered anything close to ideal.

They saw no more of each other, not since FP had abandoned anything that had to do with Jughead's schooling years ago and their children were old enough to walk to Pop's themselves whenever they wanted to hang out. Life went on, that was the moral of the story. Even if it was hard, it persisted. FP never crossed over onto the Northside and God forbid should Alice ever be caught dead entering Southside territory.

Alice was just pleased that her own marriage had managed to persist through admittedly tense times. She took great pleasure in knowing that FP and Gladys' marriage had fallen apart, as had Fred and Mary's and that Sierra and Myles' was on the brink of failure, Tom was in the same boat, and God only knew where Hermione was now that Hiram was incarcerated.

Alice would sit at her kitchen table with a smug smile on her face as she stirred her tea and looked down her street through the window, how far she had come.

> _"And the only gifts from my lord were birth and a divorce."_

When Jason Blossom - son of the rich and prestigious Clifford and Penelope Blossom - was announced dead, everything changed.

After his Sweetwater River accident, Riverdale – and the people in it – could no longer hide the darkness that their town secretly held. The day that scout leader Dilton Doiley found Jason's twin sister, Cheryl, soaking wet and shaking, the whole town had practically dropped everything to witness Sheriff Tom Keller dragging the river. Alice remembered the chill that ran up her spine as she stood darkly next to her husband on that windy July day.

"If he is dead, Hal..." she had begun, lowering her eyebrows in severity. "...I hope in those last moments, he suffered."

Was this who she was now? Someone who held a grudge ever after a teenage boy had tragically perished? Apparently.

"May Jason Blossom  _burn_ in hell."

Even Hal was surprised at her persistent cruelty as he glanced over at her uncertainly.

But, once Alice Cooper set her mind to something – even if that something was forever hating Penelope and Clifford Blossom's late son – she would be damned if she didn't succeed. Since his death, one thing after another seemed to pile up. At the end of the Summer, Hermione Lodge showed up in her hometown once again. When Alice found out that her daughter – no doubt spoiled beyond compare – would be in Betty's grade, she rolled her eyes and wondered why all of her friends from high school had had children in the same year.

But, Hermione Lodge and her corrupt husband could wait to have her full attention, Alice currently had other things to worry about, and his name was Archie Andrews.

It was no secret to her that Betty was head over heels for the boy, and that scared her almost as much as it would have scared her to find out she had feelings for someone like Jughead Jones. With Polly's young life already thrown away, Alice would have to be extra careful with Betty, she was her last chance. Alice realized that she had been so worried about Betty and Jughead ever sparking up a romance because of what she and FP had back in the day, she hadn't even thought to worry about their next door neighbour Archie.

What if it wasn't FP's son that provided Betty with the pain and bad decisions such as those that FP himself had provided for Alice? What if it was the innocent boy next door who had always seemed to have a certain hold on her daughter's heart? Whatever the case was, it was just easier if Betty stayed away from either of them. Kevin Keller was the only boy from school who she allowed in her house, for obvious reasons. He was no threat to Betty's romantic heart.

With Betty's tenth grade year now upon her, Alice decided that it was time to start putting ideas into her daughter's head. Not the kind of ideas that  _she_  had at her age, mind you, just the opposite.

"Betty, this coming year is _critical_ for colleges." She began, sitting on the edge of her daughter's bed as she got ready for school. "Grades are important. Extracurriculars, athletics, maintaining a decent character is hugely important. They  _do_  look at that." Alice hoped that by pressuring Betty into keeping a spotless academic record, her mind might be taken off any  _relationship_  that she might think she's ready to enter into.

"Mom, I'm a _sophomore_." Betty reassured her mother, who always seemed to manage to take the fun out of things.

"You've accomplished so much," Alice continued, and she wasn't lying as she spoke. "I just don't want anything jeopardizing that." Like those things had jeopardized her own future as a teenager. "I mean, just think of your poor sister. She was such a shining star before that Blossom boy ruined her." The fact that Polly had experienced so much of what Alice herself had experienced nearly broke her. A young girl who put her potential on hold for a boy, exactly what she had done for FP. Although, the circumstances were a little bit different.

"Mom, I'm not Polly." Betty had to remind her mother of that fact more and more with every passing day.

Alice took a breath, wondering if she should even mention what more she had to say. "You missed curfew last night."

"By _seven_ minutes." Betty argued in disbelief. She had no idea how her mother could make such a big deal out of the smallest of things. "I was with Archie, who has red hair, yes, but is nothing like Jason Blossom." Upon finishing her sentence, Betty realized that she actually didn't know if her words had any truth to them. She'd barely ever spoken to Jason, and the only thing she knew about his relationship was what her parents told her.

"Sweetie,  _all_  boys are like Jason Blossom." Alice stood and took Betty's hands in hers. If Betty had any experience of her own, she would realize that her mother was being overprotective because there was once a boy who had wounded her so deeply that she had decided to do everything in her power to prevent her children from suffering to the same extent that she did. How clear it was that she had never gotten over her teenage heartbreak. "I love you  _so_  much, Betty." Alice said with a heartfelt smile, "I just need you to be smart, okay?"

Or at least, smarter than she was at that age.

> _"I was Cleopatra, I was taller than the rafters, but that's all in the past now, gone with the wind."_

Betty's first day of her sophomore year came with many surprises.

She was surprised to find that Hermione Lodge's infamous daughter Veronica actually proved to be a decent person. She helped Betty accomplish two things that she had always wanted but been too scared to go after. By the end of the day, she had made the cheerleading squad and she had – kind of – managed to ask Archie to the upcoming back-to-school dance.

For whatever reason, maybe it was the immediate sense of loyalty that she got from Veronica, Betty surprised herself by opening up to her about the things that she couldn't talk to her mother about.

"When Polly and Jason got together, it meant  _everything_  to her and _nothing_ to him." That was what Alice had told her, "And things got super intense and weird and  _toxic_  and my mom  _turned_  on Polly." Betty was still trying to connect the dots there. "Said Polly wasn't her daughter anymore, said all these  _awful_  things to her." The truth was that Betty nearly lost her mind when she realized that Polly was making her mistakes and that she no longer had the power to control that. Her harsh words were  _nothing_  compared to what Hal was threatening to do to Polly. "Jason hurt Polly, but it's my mom who broke her."

When Betty returned to the Cooper residence that evening, she was happier than she remembered being in a long time. She was a cheerleader, she was one step closer to finally talking to Archie about her feelings for him, and she had met someone who she could tell was going to remain a close friend. Alice Cooper – continuing her reign of terror – brought an end to Betty's joyful dance all too soon.

" _What_  is  _that_." She said with a sigh though her voice was strong. Based on the tone of her words, Betty expected to see anger in her mother's eyes, instead she could have sworn that she saw an intense and inexplicable fear.

"I made the cheerleading squad." Betty explained with a nervous smile.

" _Cheryl Blossom's_  cheerleading squad?" Alice demanded an answer with a raise of her eyebrows. "After what Jason did to Polly?" She appreciated the fact that she could still use this as a way to prevent Betty from taking certain actions. It was too familiar. Polly had been a cheerleader under Cheryl Blossom's leadership. Possibly harmless, but too familiar. "No, I'm sorry." She shook her head and placed a hand on her hip, "I won't allow it. Take that off, right now."

Betty shook her head, hurt that her mother couldn't just be happy for her. "No." She hardly ever defied Alice's wishes, but the theme of the day seemed to be trying new things.

"What did you say to me?"

"I do  _everything_  for  _everyone_. Everything. To be  _perfect_. The perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect student." Everything that Alice never was. "Can't I do this  _one_  thing just for me?" Betty picked up her purse and moved past her mother, who now seemed frantic as she reached for her.

"Where are you going?" She said with such terror in her voice that it was as if Betty  was leaving her forever.

"To buy a dress." Betty whipped around, "Because guess what? I'm also going to the dance with Archie." Alice opened her mouth as if to say something, but Betty continued. " _And_ Veronica."

"Wait, Hermione Lodge's daughter?" Alice said, it was as if Betty was forcing her to live out every single one of her biggest fears.

"She's actually  _really_  nice and trying to be a good person."

"You think so?" Alice face had turned sour once again. "You think she's going to be your friend? Let me tell you something. Girls like Cheryl and Veronica, they don't  _like_ girls like us -"

"I don't want to hear it, Mom!" Betty interrupted, much to Alice's surprise. "It's happening, I'm  _going_."

As she watched her daughter walk out the door, Alice developed a sinking feeling in her stomach. What she wouldn't do to ensure that Betty never developed the relationship that she once had. She couldn't very well watch her daughter run around with Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge. What came next, falling in love with Jughead Jones? It was an _exact_ replication of her own youth, what she considered to be the darkest time in her life. The pain that she'd felt through the ups and downs with Fred, Hermione, and of course, FP, had shaped the bitter world that she lived in today. She wouldn't have her daughter condemned to the same misery.

> _"But, I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life."_

And then, Betty's world came crashing down around her.

She had finally done it, she came clean to Archie about her feelings and he had turned her down without even having to think too hard. The  _one_  thing that Betty had dreamed of for  _years_  would never happen. To make matters worse, Archie went into that closet with Veronica and Betty knew  _damn_  well that she couldn't actually believe that nothing would happen behind closed doors.

So, she went home in her new dress with tears in her eyes. Crying to her mother who had been right all along. All boys are like Jason Blossom.

Speaking of whom – the very next day, Alice Cooper found herself back on the edge of Sweetwater River, standing close to her remaining family, as Jason Blossom's body was pulled out of the water. When the gunshot wound on his forehead became common knowledge, the entire town knew that there was more to his story than what was originally proposed.

And somehow, they were all involved.

> _"And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I'll be on time."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Cleopatra" by The Lumineers.


	16. Oh No

> _"Don't do love, don't do friends, I'm only after success."_

The Cooper family drama continued with every passing day. Betty was made to feel sick as her parents continuously thrived off of the tragic Jason Blossom story in order to help their newspaper flourish. She didn't know  _what_  exactly Jason had done to Polly to make Alice and Hal hate him so, but it must have been tremendous if they could tell his tragic story with a smile on their faces.

> _"I just want to make a change, I just want to change."_

"Hey, honey." Hal had said as he and Alice entered Betty's room to find her writing in her diary as she so often did when there were events to be recounted. "We just wanted you to know it's going to be a bit of a late night for us." As he spoke, Betty stared at her mother. She didn't know what it was about her, but she just never seemed to have a genuinely convincing look on her face no matter how hard she tried.

"It's going to be a  _lot_  of late nights for us." Marsha corrected with a grin, leaning on Summer's chair and putting a hand on her hip. "I mean, an accidental drowning, who cares? But the sociopathic son of the wealthiest family in town murdered? That's a national obsession waiting to happen." Betty's face twisted into a grimace as her mother almost sounded _pleased_.

Even Hal became rather sick to his stomach. "He's barely in his _grave_ , Alice."

"Can you warm up the car, Hal?" She cut him off abruptly without even glancing his way. "I'll be right down." And then the sickeningly counterfeit smile was back on her face even through her sharp words with her cowardly husband as she moved towards her daughter.

"Betty," she began with a warm smile that almost seemed true. "you know what I love most about you?" She sat down beside her, "It's that you always  _want_  to see the good in people." So had she at that age, and that was perhaps her first mistake. "Even people like Cheryl Blossom and Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews." Betty braced herself, there had to be more to her mother's comments. "But, when they betrayed you this weekend, you saw their true colours, didn't you?"

"I did. I definitely did." Alice could have sighed a breath of relief upon Betty's answer.

"So, no  _backsliding_. Not Cheryl, no Veronica, and –"

"No Archie." Betty finished for her, evoking a smile from her satisfied mother.

Alice had filled Betty's head with all kinds of unforgiving nonsense that would hopefully provoke the young girl to stay away from the redheaded boy next door. Unfortunately for Alice, she had raised a smart daughter. Betty wasn't blind, she knew that her mother was all about manipulation in order to get what she wants. But they didn't want the same things, that was clear. So, Betty marched straight to Archie's house. If he didn't have feelings for her, she would eventually get over it, she knew that. But to lose him as a friend? To have him gone from her life forever? That was something that she would settle for.

Meanwhile, while her daughter was off at school, doing exactly what her mother had told her not to by forgiving all those who had wrong her, Alice found herself in a dimly-lit autopsy laboratory that stunk of sanitizing alcohol. The  _Jason Blossom_ _Saga_  continued as her thirst for revenge only intensified. She felt no remorse, staring at Jason's deceased body. She wasn't there to pay her respects, she was there because she had connections. An envelope of cash handed to the medical examiner under the table was all that it would take to get just enough information for her story.

She'd always loved a good mystery.

But, Alice was unprepared for how deep this particular mystery would prove to run. Nearly everyone that she grew up with was involved, and it would be thanks to not only her, but her daughter and her friends.

"Ligature marks on both wrists and a hint of cryonecrotic preservation." The examiner finished revealing the secrets that Jason's autopsy had uncovered. Alice could think outside of the box and point the finger of accusation at surprising people with the sole purpose of stirring up some drama as well as the next person. But she never would have imagined that it was Clifford Blossom who tied his own son's wrists to the chair and FP Jones who shoved the boy into a freezer.

> _"I know exactly what I want and who I want to be."_

When Alice Cooper found out that Cheryl Blossom had so much as set _foot_ in her home, she nearly was sent into a tailspin. So much so that she had walked around her daughter's room with lit pieces of sage to, " _Banish the evil spirits._ "

"Mom." Betty argued, her mother was being ridiculous.

"I'm not  _joking_ , Betty. That family is pure evil." She wondered how far she could take this, "I'm wondering if the Blossoms didn't kill Jason themselves – sacrificed him to some dark pagan god that they worship in their insane mansion of theirs." She wasn't serious, but she was closer to the truth than anyone knew.

But, Betty's mind was elsewhere. She was being tormented by the idea of her sister somewhere alone and hurting upon hearing the news of Jason's death. "Mom, does Polly know about Jason?"

Alice took a deep breath and looked away from Betty, her voice wavering ever so slightly as it always did when she was telling a bold-faced lie. "I told her." Betty wondered if she was telling the truth, her words seemed a couple octaves too high, as if they were masking some kind of panic. "But, half the time, your sister doesn't even know what day it is." The truth was, Alice seemed as if she was lying, because she _was._ She hadn't told Polly, but Hal had promised to, and he'd told Alice everything that she'd just repeated to Betty. But, in all honestly, she didn't trust her husband for a second.

"Mom, why were you so against them being together?"

"Many reasons." Alice softened her voice, hoping that the hurt behind her own experiences wouldn't leak out. "That family, everything they touch, it _rots_."

"Mom, I was thinking..." Betty stood, suddenly nervous. "...maybe it's time I go visit Polly."

Alice had her back to her daughter, but upon hearing her words, her eyes shot up in alarm. For a moment, she didn't know what to do with herself. Clearing her thoughts with a shake of her head, Alice turned to Betty and took her hands. "I am so proud of how you stood up to that  _dragoness_. But honestly, Betty, why was Cheryl even over here in the first place?" It was about time that she derailed the conversation so as to avoid any other inquiries Betty had about Polly. "And who else is going to come waltzing in? Veronica? Archie? How many times are you going to let them hurt you?"

She took Betty's face in her hand, but her daughter remained hardened. "Until I learn my lesson, Mom." She said with a stone cold expression on her face and a defiant sharpness to her voice that made Alice uneasy. It was the same kind of behaviour that she herself used to exhibit.

> _"I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy."_

When Alice published a story deeming Cheryl to be Jason's true killer in the Register and gloated to Betty about her _fine_ work, the young blonde just couldn't take her mother's cruelty anymore. "Mom." She stopped her before she could leave the room. "First you leaked Jason Blossom's autopsy report, and now  _this_?"

"People are  _loving_  the coverage." She tried to justify her actions with a smile, though she should have been sickening herself.

"You  _have_  to stop sensationalizing this horrible thing." Betty was trying her hardest, but when Alice Cooper smelled drama, she ran with it.

"It's  _news_ , Betty. We  _own_  the Riverdale Register, we have a responsibility to keep the people informed."

She tried to come off as innocent, but Betty wasn't buying it. " _Whatever_  Jason did to Polly, he's still a  _person_."

"You reap what you sow."

"You should be writing about the _real_ story. I mean, what happened to Jason?  _Who_  was holding him captive?  _Why_  was he frozen? And  _who_  shot that gun on July fourth?"

"Well if you are so keen on reporting, why don't you come work with your father and me? The Register could really use a Lois Lane type like you." Alice swiped the paper from her daughter's pure hands. She had no interest in listening to what Betty had to say about journalism integrity; if she followed the rules then how could she possibly have control over Jason's story? She  _needed_  the power to string together whatever tale she could to keep  _her_  family name spotless.

> _"One track mind, one track heart. If I fail, I'll fall apart."_

As irony would have it, Alice's attempt to silence her daughter's inquisitive mind by suggesting she work under herself and Hal at the Review only provoked Betty to make a change of her own. A change which would subsequently send her straight into the arms of Jughead Jones – Alice's very own darkest fear. When Betty asked Jughead to come write with her at the school newspaper, neither of them knew that their future investigation would lead to an intense romance sparking between the two of them.

> _"Maybe it is all a test."_

Alice caught Betty wearing red lipstick.

It made her blood run cold thinking of the only reason that Alice herself used to put on red lipstick. With her lips coated in ruby pigment, Betty looked all too much like her.

It was nipped in the bud.

> _"'Cause I feel like I"m the worst, so I always act like I'm the best."_

It was during the first annual Taste of Riverdale that the town started to fall apart.

Fred Andrews was flirting with Hermione Lodge as if he forgot how detrimental their relationship had been, Alice was going through glasses of wine without thinking too much about it, the Mayor McCoy was trying too hard to pretend nothing was wrong with their beloved Riverdale, Penelope and Clifford Blossom never should have attended the event in the first place, and then of course – the showdown.

It may as well have been high school all over again as Alice Cooper strutted up to Penelope, walking tall in her high heeled shoes and perfectly ironed blue blouse. "Penelope Blossom," she began, everyone could pick up on the smugness beneath her words. "I thought I might run into you. Would you like to give me a quote regarding the investi –"

Before Alice could even finish her impudent question, Penelope had slapped her across the face. As Penelope was dragged away by her husband, spewing venomous words sprung from the pain of losing her son and her hatred for Alice Cooper, Alice finally realized just what she must have been doing to that family. Her eyes widened as she stepped back, knowing that seeing her derisory articles in the Register would only force Penelope and their whole family to relive the tragic events that now made up their lives. Alice couldn't let her resignation appear evident for long, so she steadied herself, stood up straight, fixed her hair, and walked away. After all, it was all about appearances, was it not?

But, Alice wasn't finished for the night. She raised a presumptuous eyebrow and paraded over to where an  _old friend_  was working appetizers. "Hermione Lodge." Her voice was practically singsong-like. "Park Avenue princess to cater-waiter." She finished by taking a shot of whatever the ice-cream infused alcohol was that they were serving.

"Alice Smith." Hermione reiterated, although her voice lacked the pretension that Alice's always seemed to have. "No longer lactose-intolerant, I see."

"It's _Cooper_." Alice narrowed her eyes. People only ever used her own last name when they were using it against her.

"Is it?" Hermione prodded, two could play at her poisonous game.

"How's Veronica?" Alice wondered how much drama she could stir up thanks to Betty not being able to keep her mouth shut about anything. When Hermione remained oblivious, Alice began to really milk her story. " _Oh_ , you don't even know, do you?" She put a hand on her hip as she continued to play the game that she had gotten  _very_  good at as she'd been practising since junior high. "The things that they're saying about your daughter at school."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Alice made a face, she would play along in order to get to the bottom of this. "What things?"

"Slut-shaming." Alice raised her voice ever so slightly so that any innocent bystanders might hear. "That's what they call it when  _sluts_ get shamed."

To Hermione's credit, she didn't give in to Alice's tricks. She left immediately to call her daughter,  _she_  had grown up and out of her teenage years. Though, she did find it rather ironic. There was a time when Alice was referred to as the  _Serpent_ _Slut_ , and now look at her go off on Veronica for God only knew what.

"You know you _really_ ," Alice was still going, even though Hermione's attention was now elsewhere, "you have to keep an eye on girls like Veronica. They so _easily_ can get out of control."

Anyone listening understood what Alice was insinuating. That  _her_  daughter was purified whereas anyone different was corrupted and therefore somehow  _less_  than her and her family.

Little did Alice know, her  _perfect_  daughter was in Ethel Muggs' house, wearing lingerie, a black wig, and the red lipstick that she knew her mother despised as she suffered from what might have been a mental breakdown and tried to drown the captain of the football team in a hot tub.

> _"If you are not very careful, your possessions will possess you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Oh No!" by Marina and the Diamonds.


	17. Don't Blame Me

> _"Don't blame me, love made me crazy."_

Jughead Jones was a man with a cause.

He always had just that extra bit of fight in him that made him respectable, intriguing even. Alice Cooper knew just how easy it was for wide-eyed lost girls to fall for brooding, lamenting Jones boys.

When Alice found out, through her  _many_ sources, that her daughter was at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe with Jughead after he had found out about the Twilight Drive-In closing, she grabbed her keys and raced to the diner. She knew enough about Jughead's  _type_  to know that he would likely be off on a tangent as he lamented to Betty about how he would keep his job. She also knew that if her daughter was anything like she was, Betty wouldn't be able to resist Jughead's rebellious ways.

She was thankful to have arrived when she did, because it appeared as though Betty, Archie, and Veronica – the trio that so many had deemed the " _love triangle from hell"_  – were in deep conversation. "Get in the car, Betty." She demanded, her blonde hair bouncing from the sudden stop. " _Now."_

When Betty complied without a word, Alice started up the argument that they so often had. " _What_  have I told you about those two?"

Her daughter was in no mindset to go over this again, "Can we just go?"

> _"If it doesn't, you ain't doing it right."_

Cooper women had always been good at knowing a mystery when they come across one. That's why Betty and Alice  _both_  knew that something was not quite right with Archie Andrews. They lived across the street from him, there were some things that you just couldn't  _help_  noticing. Of course, Betty knew much more than her mother at that point. But there was just enough mystery left to prompt an investigation.

That's how Betty found out about Archie and the high school music teacher, Miss Grundy's relationship, about the gun, about her fake name, and about the late-night  _lessons_. And so, amidst all the Jason Blossom murder drama, the boy next door, Archie Andrews, was suddenly up to his neck in a spectacle of his own.

Alice had tried to do her own investigating, as she dragged Hal over to the neighbours' house and knocked on the door. "We're sorry to come unannounced, Archie." he began, hoping he could act as a buffer for whatever erratic behaviour his wife may suddenly produce. "It's been a rough couple months for us. But, Alice and I –"

"We think that Archie and Betty  should stop spending time together." Alice interjected before Hal could undermine her whole intent. If Archie Andrews was Betty's FP Jones, just as Jason Blossom had been Polly's, it was better that Alice took control and forbid them from seeing each other to prevent any future heartbreak. "Their relationship isn't good for either of them. And their respective behaviour reflects that."

"Alright," Hal said, obviously uncomfortable knowing that it was only a matter of time before Alice made some comment that alluded to the fact that her and her daughter was better than Fred and his son, "so, if there was anything you could do on your end..."

"My son's a good kid." Fred stated calmly, unfazed by the Coopers' characteristic display.

"I live next door, Fred." Alice stated, "I see him sneaking out at night, slinking off into the darkness at all hours."

Fred had been meaning to talk to Archie about _where_ exactly he had been spending his nights, but he didn't need Alice Cooper's help in doing so. " _Alice,"_ he began, clearly rather amused by her whole childish debacle, "are you  _spying_  on us?"

Alice inhaled sharply and grabbed her husband by the arm. "Come on, Hal. We said what we came to say, it's on him if he ignores us."

Admittedly, investigations were easier to do when you're actually friends with the person in the predicament in need of investigation. Which is exactly why Betty knew the whole story right around the same time that Alice even knew there  _was_  a story. But, the young girl had a common downfall – her diary.

So, when Alice found a gun, of all things, in Betty's drawer, she ran to the pink book for answers. Whatever her daughter was caught up in, Alice just hoped to God that it was nothing like _she_ had experienced when it came to hiding weapons as a teenager. The diary proved to be an interesting and rather relieving read.

> _"For you, I would cross the line."_

Betty was surprised to find herself welcomed by the astringent face of her mother standing in the front door. " _Finally_." Alice said, almost panicked.

"What's wrong?" Betty asked in incredulity, knowing that Alice was likely in the middle of overreacting to something.

"What's _wrong_ is my daughter is hiding a gun in her bedroom." Betty's eyes widened, "And that's just for starters."

"I can explain that." Betty breathed, but Alice already knew the truth, there was no need.

"Oh, you  _will_." Alice said, leaving the gun on a nearby table and shutting the door. "Now, get in the car."

> _"I would waste my time."_

While the Cooper women scoured the town for Archie Andrews, the rest of the citizens were at the closing night of the drive-in. Fred and Hermione were attempting to recreate a little snippet of their youth and sat side by side in his old pickup while the movie played on before them. The truth of the matter was, everyone was a little melancholy over the closing of the Twilight Drive-In, and they all wanted to come down and pay their respects to the place that had helped provide them all a childhood. For Fred and Hermione, they'd both come to the conclusion that neither of them wanted anyone but _each other_ to accompany them to the last showing at the drive-in.

So, like so many nights before, Fred and Hermione developed simultaneous butterflies in their nervous stomachs as they sat together watching the movie. About halfway through Rebel Without a Cause - the picture chosen by Jughead per Betty's suggestion - Fred was left to wait in the truck while FP Jones, of all people, came into the picture - terrifying Serpent jacket and all - as a shakedown for Hermione Lodge. Because, who doesn't love old friends coming together? And apparently, that was what FP had been reduced to - a lowlife in a leather jacket with chains on his jeans who waited behind buildings for rich women to give him owed money for his gang. Even if that money was dirty.

FP wished that he didn't have to do this tonight of all nights, but he knew that he didn't get a say in the matter. If he was owed a debt by someone of the likes of Hiram Lodge, he  _would_  be repaid. The meeting wasn't hidden because he was afraid of someone as harmless as Sheriff Keller, but because the business dealings were so under wraps that even  _he_  didn't know the half of what he was helping to do. So, there he stood, beside the chain-link fence that surrounded the south side of the closing drive-in.

He waited to conduct an illegal transaction knowing full well that his son was working the movie, living in his tiny office, doing whatever he could to save his place of employment. He knew that Jughead's friends were all here, lined up in their cars, sitting in the back of trucks, just like he used to do some twenty-five years ago. He knew that maybe even some of his own friends were here with their families.

He wasn't surprised to see Alice Cooper step out of her car mere yards away from him with a pretentious air about her.

She didn't notice him, and he was quite honestly glad for that. She would have inevitably gone over to him and started an argument just as Hermione approached him with the money. Alice would just  _love_  to stick her nose into that once. And then, of course, Fred would have noticed the scene that she would make and approach the group as well. And FP _definitely_ couldn't handle a reunion between the four of them just now. But, she was on a mission - far too determined to notice any bikers hidden in the shadows.

She walked right by him, so close that he could practically smell her. Sometimes FP wondered if she wore such sweet perfume to mask the poison that her entire being was laced with. She walked as she always walked – like she was so far above everyone else in her presence that they might as well have been invisible.

When FP noticed who must have been Betty Cooper - he hadn't seen her in years, she would likely always be the little girl in blue coveralls and blonde pigtails kicking around a soccer ball with Archie, Kevin, and Jughead in the field of Riverdale Elementary School to him - in the still running station wagon with an unsettled look on her face, he knew that something must have been in the process of unfolding. That paired with Alice's fierce walk straight to Fred's truck.

She banged on his window hastily, urging him to listen to her. "I'm sorry to interrupt your  _adultery_ , Fred..." FP almost laughed aloud at how easily she could put anyone to shame, "...but you need to come with me."

" _Alice_ , what..." Fred began, confused.

"It's about the  _kids_!" Even from afar, FP could tell that Alice may have been trying to stir up some drama, but she was also genuinely concerned as she and Fred hurriedly looked around for his date, unwilling to leave her stranded and questioning.

Of course, it was then that Hermione appeared before FP, and his attention was directed back to the task at hand. Just as FP looked away from the scene to lock eyes with Hermione Lodge, he braced himself for what was to come. The past was behind them. It shook him to his core to realize just how far they'd come. Him and Fred used to be best friends, now they aren't even on good terms. Him and Hermione used to be good friends, now he was scaring her into paying him her debts. Him and Alice used to be madly in love, now it's as if they're sworn enemies. She was the face of the Northside while he was the poster child for the Southside. Of course, they were  _both_ born and raised here.

Just as Hermione shook her head and held out her hand,  _promising_ yet again that she'd get him the money, she just needed a little time, Alice's shoulder was tapped. "We need you, too." Alice Cooper herself said to her childhood best friend, and Hermione turned to face her and Fred behind her.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, but Alice's eyes were now fixated on who was standing directly behind Hermione. FP Jones - she hadn't even seen him there. It had been  _years_ since she'd come face to face with him. Had she known that Hermione had been talking with him, she never would have approached either of them. But there he stood, the man singlehandedly responsible for every present day pain that Alice felt, looking as handsome as the devil himself.

Seeing that Alice's attention was captivated, Hermione turned to the man that she'd come to the drive in with in the first place. "Fred?"

Beside her, Alice could hear Fred filling Hermione in on the situation, but Alice's eyes remained held by FP. She couldn't speak, she didn't know what she'd say, but he'd caught her off guard, that was clear. She wasn't prepared to see him, she hadn't practised her words of steel and tilted chin, she was caught in a vulnerable state. He seemed to know this, and shoved his hands in his pockets while looking down on her.

"Really nice article you put out this morning," FP paused, glaring at her without forgiveness behind his stony brown eyes, " _Mrs. Cooper_."

Alice had published a positively venomous piece early today accusing the Southside Serpents of the murder of Jason Blossom. And now, looking into the eyes of the man that could still make her feel so much after twenty-five years, she was reduced to regretting it. She couldn't do this, not tonight. She shook her head and blinked away any emotion that lingered in her eyes. "Fred, Hermione," she turned to the other two, "we have to go."

The four of them used to sit day after day, laughing together in a booth at Pops', sharing stories over rootbeer floats, love in the air and carelessness on their minds. Now, they all stood together for the first time in decades, and it should have been just like old times. It should have been a grand affair of four old friends, two sets of past lovers, coming together to appreciate all that they had lost. Instead, it had been a bitter scene that left them all feeling  _cold._

> _"I would lose my mind."_

"Well, well, well..." Alice began as her, Betty, and Fred, all entered the music room of the school late that night. "There they are, what did I tell you?"

"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Miss Grundy managed to say, feigning innocence.

"Of course." Alice said with a snake-like smile, "Archie, would you like to share with us what you and  _Mrs. Robinson_  have been doing during your  _music lesson_. And please, don't leave out any of the lurid details because Betty here keeps a very meticulous diary, and I am  _more_  than happy to fill in the details."

And so, they were caught. Archie's forbidden romance with the dangerous music teacher whose type was about fifteen years too young was finally brought to light. Leave it to Alice Cooper to get so involved in everyone else's business to the point of revealing intense,  _illegal_  secrets.

"I never thought that I would live to see the day." Alice continued on her overdramatic rampage. "I thought the one thing that we could keep our Riverdale safe from was child predators."

"Miss Grundy's  _not_  a predator, she's a good person." Archie argued in defence of the teacher.

"Archie," Grundy cut in, "you don't have to defend me."

" _No_ , he doesn't." Fred added.

"Well," Alice turned around with a self-satisfied smile on her face as she'd managed to prove, once again, that no one, not even Archie Andrews, Riverdale's golden boy, was good enough for her daughter, "they're not denying it, are they? They're clearly guilty. I think the next step is we take this to Sheriff Keller and let the wheels of justice take over."

"Dad, you can't let that happen." Archie argued, now rather panicked.

"Son," Fred began, knowing that Archie's heart was likely in the right place, "it's complicated."

"She didn't force me to do anything,  _I_  went after  _her_." Archie's breathing grew rapid as he tried his hardest to come to the defence of the woman that he thought he loved. "Everything that happened,  _I_  wanted to happen."

"There's no surprise there." Alice interjected as Miss Grundy was so overcome by the events that she had to take a seat.

Betty, who had been awfully quiet, finally turned to her mother with tears in her eyes. "Why are you  _doing_  this, Mom? Putting Miss Grundy on trial."

"This isn't just about  _her_. This is about him." Alice pointed to Archie. "I want you to see what kind of person Archie  _truly_  is." It was clear to Betty now - her mother had lost her mind.

"Wait a minute," Fred cut in, " _That_  is what this is about? Your crazy grudge against my teenage son?"

"I'm  _never_  going to stop being friends with Archie, Mom." Betty stated fiercely, " _Ever_."

"We are done here." Fred said in an attempt to reign in the lunacy that he was witnessing.

"Oh, we are  _far_  from being done here."

Archie finally yelled for everyone to cease their arguing, bringing the room to an expectant lull. "You're  _right_ , Mrs. Cooper. You're right, I'm selfish." Alice was shocked to hear him give in so easily, "And I'm stupid. And I don't deserve to be your daughter's friend. But please, don't hurt Miss Grundy because you want to hurt me."

"This isn't about  _hurting_  anyone, Archie." Alice revealed, "It's about doing what's _right_. And, of course, informing our neighbours."

"Alice, I swear to _God_ –" Fred crossed his arms.

"You swear to God  _what_ , _Fred_?"

"Publish one word about this, Mom..." Betty now stood in front of her mother, "and I will tell everyone that I broke into Miss Grundy's car."

" _Betty_ –"

"That I  _robbed_  her and made up the story of their affair. It will be like I finally  _snapped_. Like Polly."

"Betty..."

"It'll prove what everyone already thinks about us - ' _crazy runs in that family_. _'_ Like mother like daughter."

"You wouldn't dare." Alice was now on the verge of tears herself, but she would be damned if she would let herself get worked up over this little encounter. Betty was right, of course, that  _was_  what people thought about them, what people thought about  _her_. Fred was right as well. This  _was_  all about a grudge that Alice held for teenage boys who worm their way into the hearts of girls like her. Alice already knew that she wouldn't be publishing anything about Archie and Miss Grundy thanks to her daughter's threat, but when Geraldine herself offered to quit her job and leave Riverdale, everyone in the room - save for poor Archie Andrews - was finally satisfied.

As long as Betty saw exactly who Archie was and how it would affect her by keeping him in her life, Alice was happy.

> _"They say she's gone too far this time."_

The atmosphere of the Cooper house was tense when Alice and Betty found themselves back home that night. "Betty," Alice began in a shaky voice, staring at her daughter who sat on her bed with a faraway look in her wet eyes. "Polly kept so, so many secrets from us." Alice sat down next to her youngest daughter. Had Betty been looking in her mother's direction, she would have seen the tear stream down her face. "I won't have any more secrets between us. Not anymore. Not if I'm going to keep you safe.

Betty finally whipped her head around to look at Alice, tears of her own on her cheeks. "What's my name, Mom? Say it."

Alice swallowed and let herself forget about who it was that she was trying to be. "Elizabeth Cooper."

"That's right, I am  _Elizabeth_. I am  _not_  Polly. Archie is  _not_  Jason, so stop using them as an excuse to control my life!"

> _"Don't blame me, love made me crazy."_

The night of the drive-in proved to be eventful in many ways.

Not only had Fred and Hermione rekindled their romance, Veronica witnessed her mother's shadowy ways, and Alice stopped a romance with a forbidden age gap in its tracks, but Harold Cooper was out with a plan of his own. While his family as well as the sheriff were all out in town, he broke into Tom Keller's house and stole his entire case study on the murder of Jason Blossom. It turned out that the picture perfect Cooper husband himself may have also had some skeletons in his closet, just as his wife did.

Although his wife's were less skeletons, exactly. More like  _snakes._

> _"If it doesn't, you ain't doing it right."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Don't Blame Me" by Taylor Swift.


	18. Cross My Mind

> _"I know I haven't been perfect, but give it some time."_

FP Jones was on the Northside.

He had practically promised himself that he'd never cross the tracks, and it was usually unnecessary to do so. But tonight, seeing that whole town out for the drive-in's closing night, it reminded him just how dangerous Riverdale had come to be. It didn't bother him so much, last year or even a few months ago, when he knew that Jughead was out couch surfing. Did he hate to know that he had failed so fiercely as a father that his teenage son didn't even know where he would spend each night? Absolutely. But, he was sure that Jughead would be safer wherever he was so long as he wasn't living with him on the Southside in a broken down trailer park.

But now, Jason Blossom had been murdered, and only FP knew the truth.

He was the  _only_  one in that goddamn town who knew  _just_  how dangerous Clifford Blossom truly was. And to make matters worse, the Lodge family was back in town save for the man himself. FP wasn't sure if Hermione was still _with_ corrupt mobster or if they had separated after he'd been incarcerated, but FP hadn't a clue who to ask. He figured that Fred would know, he never had been able to keep his eyes, or _hands_ , off the woman. But, after their business partnership went up down in flames, FP and Fred didn't speak much. And, of course, the only time that FP even  _saw_  Hermione since her return to Riverdale was the couple times that he'd gone to her while she did the bidding for her imprisoned husband. And that left Alice, who FP had seen for the first time in  _years_ earlier that night at the drive-in. He'd said only a few words to her and the only answer that he got from her was a facial expression.

But, it was days like this, when the very safety of their small town was deemed questionable, that the past came flooding back to them all. FP didn't often let himself dwell on the past, he preferred to pretend that nothing bothered him and that it was simply a chapter from his youth which was simply a book that he'd closed years ago. His friendship with Fred managed to persist longer than anything, but even that came back to bite the both of them. FP had made some questionable choices previously, and Fred had  _always_ been the one to pull him out of the hot water, whether FP asked or not. But, Fred could only hold on for so long.

FP had children and a wife that he needed to provide for, which is why he took the odd jobs that landed him in jail. But, Fred knew to cut bait before his own family could be tainted. He had a son that meant more to him than anything in the world. And when Mary left them and ran off to the city, Fred knew that he needed to be the best parent he could be, for the sake of Archie. Which meant cutting ties with FP Jones, knowing precisely how trouble seemed to follow that man around. He'd always been like that, so had Alice, back in the day. But, when they were kids, things were different. The only people that could get hurt were themselves, they had no one else. Now, children and spouses had been thrown into the mix just to make everything even more difficult.

But, even  _that_ was in the past for FP Jones. His wife and daughter had moved as far away as they possibly could, and his son had turned into the drifter that FP used to be back in his own youth. Jughead hardly considered FP to be his father, though he wished he could, it wasn't that simple. FP started his life reckless and wild because he  _could_. He was alone. He had no parents and no siblings to worry about, nothing holding him down. If he needed to do a job that could get him killed, he would. He needed to make a living somehow. But then, Alice came into the picture, and flipped his world on its head. She gave him something to lose, someone to protect, and something to live for. Her presence in his life managed to reign him in for a while, she helped him make safer decisions just as he did for her.

But when he drove her away and she left him for a supposedly better life, everything fell apart. FP grew cold and bitter, still angry and hurting from his past, and  _she_ was responsible for that. Even when he got with Gladys, it wasn't the same. He didn't feel this strong desire to protect her and shape himself up for her, he simply lived alongside her. It wasn't until they had children that Jack started to be cautious once more. He didn't want his actions and stupid decisions coming back to hurt his children. But, when his whole family left him on his own once more, he turned positively dark. He had nothing more to live for, nothing to protect except himself and his own fragile feelings. He kept his past under lock and key, but one look into the bright blue eyes of Alice Cooper forced everything back to him.

Though their relationship managed to shape every single thing that he did even today, FP never let himself think about it. But, tonight, after coming face to face with the sweetest ghost from his past, he couldn't stop. Running around as children, arguing as teenagers, running into each other around school, hearing her voice when no one else could get through to her. The blue scrunchie she wore in her hair back in the summer before sophomore year when they'd both worked at Pop's. Falling in love, asking her out, driving around in his old pickup truck, countless nights spent at the same drive-in that he'd just seen her at, hot summer nights, the good days, the bad days, the screaming, the crying, the fighting in the rain, the kissing in the rain, and the point of no return.

Back in the day, you could manage to get yourself into trouble in Riverdale, but nothing  _fatal_. Now, fathers were killing their own sons, Hiram Lodge was somehow managing to continue doing illegal business even from  _prison_ , someone had broken into the sheriff's house and stole away his entire investigation surrounding the Blossom boy's murder, Archie Andrews, an  _innocent_ , was having an affair with his  _teacher_. Things were no longer safe in their fair Riverdale.

FP rarely slept, knowing what he knew. But tonight, he knew that he couldn't even let himself  _rest_  without knowing that his son was safe. He knew that Riverdale was a small school, and that the kids all tended to look out for each other. That being said, the last thing that FP wanted was for Jughead to get taken in by the wrong people. What if Cheryl offered to let him stay at his house? Jughead would be spending his nights under the same roof as a psychotic murderer.

What if Veronica Lodge offered? FP didn't want Jughead anywhere  _near_  that family nor the hotel in which they did their business. How could FP rest easy knowing that perhaps Kevin Keller had taken Jughead in for the night? It was the _sheriff's_ house, and it had even managed to be broken into and brutally robbed of shady information. And what about Betty? If she invited Jughead to stay with her, FP's  _own_  life would be put in danger. Alice would have his head if she knew that Jughead wasn't living at home. And she'd be even more furious about the fact that she knew she would have to take him in, for Betty  _and_  Jughead's sake. FP was no stranger to Alice's motives. She would have a complete fit if their children began spending a little too much time together. She had no interest in watching their children make all their same mistakes.

Though, what FP didn't understand, was why she was so motivated to prevent her children from doing what she'd done. FP assumed Alice wanted Betty nowhere near Jughead because Alice regretted her entire relationship with FP back in the day and wouldn't wish that upon anymore. But, that simply was not the case. In reality, she could  _say_ that she regretted the relationship all she wanted, but that was far from the truth. It was the best time of her life, the only time that she'd ever felt truly loved, truly safe, like she really had a home. What hurt her the most, was how it ended. She wanted to keep Betty and Jughead apart because if they could manage to keep their relationship healthy, the pain of losing your soulmate was something that Alice wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.

So, that left Archie and, though things would inevitably be tense at the Andrews house, it was the safest spot for Jughead. FP knew that Jughead and Archie were best friends, they always had been. Back when times were a little bit lighter and when they were all growing up together, the two boys and Betty Cooper were the best of friends, inseparable. Alice didn't like the way that her daughter gravitated to her old friends, but she was always just glad that Archie had always seemed to capture Betty's romantic attention as opposed to Jughead. And even she knew that it wouldn't really be fair to keep Betty away from the only couple kids who didn't tease her in school.

It was nearly eleven o'clock at night and the streets were completely empty when FP pulled up to the Andrews house and parked his truck on the curb. He sat there for a moment, trying to regain his sanity and work out what he was going to say to Fred. Better yet, what he was going to say to _Jughead_ if he really was there. He just needed a minute.

He looked by accident.

It wasn't  _his_  fault that the Coopers lived in a home with enormous bay windows that allowed anybody to glimpse right into their  _perfect_  life were the drapes not shut. And tonight, they were not.

Though the lights inside the house cast a warm glow out onto their yard outside, the overall feeling seemed solemn. All FP had to do was turn his head to the right and there sat Alice Cooper on the high horse that was her kitchen stool with her face in her hands. And in that brief moment, FP forgot all about whatever was going on in his life. His thoughts resided on  _her_ , because every so often,  _she_  was forced to cross his mind, whether he liked it or not.

He felt all the usual things as he observed her from the streets, but it still felt strangling. What exactly did he see? He saw Alice Cooper, Queen of Destruction, breaking down. She sat alone in her kitchen, the pain from her fight with Betty still raw, and she rested her forehead in the palms of her hands as she leaned her elbows on the table. Silent tears streaked her face, leaving faint stripes of mascara but she didn't give a damn. It was all catching up to her.

Betty was catching _on_. She was realizing that whatever game she was playing, however she wanted to shape her daughters' lives so that they were nothing like hers was, it was too much. FP watched her shake ever so slightly as her tears dripped onto the table beneath her arms. When she realized that she needed to get a hold of herself, Alice took a deep, wavering breath, and looked up at the ceiling, wiping her eyes with her thumbs. He had no idea what had gotten her so upset, but he  _did_  know that Hal's car wasn't in the driveway and couldn't help but wonder if that had everything to do with it. If that were the case, he also wondered just how many late nights Alice had spent alone, sobbing in her kitchen.

What he didn't know, however, that Alice was thinking about him. The night had been too much for her. Betty had shouted at her for trying to protect her, and her daughter was slipping away from her. Alice just wanted to keep her safe and on the right path, she was trying to be the mother that she never had at Betty's age. She didn't want her daughter ever to have to join a gang for a  _boy_ of all things and get into shady dealings. She didn't want her daughter to fall in love with that boy who could never really be tied down. She didn't want Betty to experience the very best days of her life with certain people only to have every single wonderful memory tainted by the catastrophic way that their relationships had all gone up in smoke.

Not only that, but she'd seen FP earlier that night at the Twilight Drive-In.  _Their_ drive-in. She couldn't even count how many nights they'd spent their in their youth. Either cuddled up in the back of FP's truck or getting busy in the backseat of her old car. It had been the best of times, and now the drive-in was being torn to pieces, and another source of memory for their relationship was being destroyed.

Alice couldn't take it, some days. She missed him as if he was in her blood stream and she just need to  _feel_ him around her. Of course,  _no one_ could know that. Alice acted like she loved the perfect life she lived, she'd forced people to forget that her and FP ever even dated in the first place. They would have no idea that she often sat by herself in the middle of the night, tears dampening her cheeks, and mourned everything that once was and all that could have been.

When Hal pulled up inn the driveway only a moment later, he didn't even notice his wife's former flame sitting suspiciously in his truck outside of Fred's house, which was surprising to him. Instead, Hal seemed panicked, unfocused, on edge. It was none of his business, so FP gave one last glance through the window where he saw Alice frantically get up from the table and quickly run up the stairs upon hearing her husband's car in the driveway.

FP sighed deeply and unclipped his seatbelt, deciding it was finally time to enter the belly of the beast, before realizing that, through  _Fred's_ kitchen window, he could suddenly and easily see his son inside eating pizza with Archie. He had been right, he figured that Jughead would find his way to the Andrews residence eventually. Knowing that Jughead was safe, FP willingly turned the key in his ignition and went back to where he came from – where he belonged.

What FP didn't know, was that Jughead did  _not_  know where he was staying the night after this. He had planned to sleep at Archie's as nothing more than a regular weekend sleepover. He was safe, yes, but only for one night. When morning came, he would be on the hunt for a new Twilight Drive-In where he could make his bed.

> _"'Cause not a single day goes by where you don't cross my mind."_

Betty was getting nowhere with her mother.

She needed answer and she needed them  _now_. It was killing her, not knowing the truth about what had happened with her sister. So, she resorted to someone who she had always thought of as the  _lesser of two evils_. "Dad," she began, while her and her father both had their hands busy inside the trunk of his old car, "every time I ask Mom about Polly, she shuts me down. Can  _we_  please talk about it?" Hal stood up straighter and braced recited in his head the lines that he had grown so fond of using to describe his eldest daughter. "What  _happened?_ What did Jason  _do_  that was so bad?"

Hal was quiet for a moment but knew that Betty wouldn't quit until he gave her some information that Alice never would. "Jason and Polly had a fight." he sat, "I don't know what it was about, but afterwards, Polly was pretty devastated. And I came home from work one day and I heard the water running in the bathroom upstairs." Betty didn't say a word,  _finally_  she was getting something. "I went upstairs, I knocked on the door, I asked if Polly was alright, and then she didn't say anything. So, I kicked the door down. Polly was trying to hurt herself, Betty."

Betty felt a chill run down her spine, where had  _she_  been during all of this and why had no one told her? "That's why we sent her away. To stop her from trying to take her own life, again." The news shook Betty to her core, she had no idea.

But, Betty was being lied to. Hal controlled the narrative, he could spew any kind of nonsense that he wanted to. But, he knew that it would be easier if he at least provided his daughter with a half-truth. Yes, Polly had tried to take her own life before being sent away to the nunnery, but it wasn't due to a fight with Jason. It was because Hal Cooper himself had threatened terrible things to the poor girl.

The next day, Betty couldn't handle keeping it to herself any longer, so she went to someone that she could trust. Right now, there was only one person who she could attribute the word  _safety_  to, and that was Jughead Jones.

> _"And we spend our lives looking for something we can't find."_

Alice Cooper was  _not_  home.

If she were, she  _never_  would have allowed FP Jones' son to walk through her front doors let alone go straight to her daughter's bedroom. The first time that Betty Cooper saw Jughead Jones in that suit, even if it was for the funeral of their late classmate, she realized something that had been true for some time. Somewhere along the line of their lengthy friendship, she had developed feelings for him. And, unless she was gravely mistaken, he might feel the same way.

They were strangely similar, her and Jughead. They enjoyed solving mysteries and they certainly worked well together. But that was where their similarities ended. Their personalities themselves were completely different. Perhaps why it just might have worked. Betty wasn't about to say anything about it, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt and besides, she want soon going to confess her feelings to another one of her friends only to have him state clearly that things were not mutual. This time would be different.

And so began the incomparable, intense, grand teenage romance that was Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. Alice certainly didn't see it coming, she was just glad that Betty had seemed to move on from Archie. If she knew about the time that her daughter and Jughead had been spending together at the school newspaper, she would have marched right over to FP's trailer regardless of what her pride was telling her and demand that his son stayed the hell away from her daughter. But she was never allowed the time to prepare herself for what was inevitably to come. If a Jones was meant to be with a Cooper - once a Smith - then that was that.

But, the feelings that Betty realized may have blossomed for her friend Jughead were undeniable to her. She only hoped that this time – unlike the whole Archie Andrews debacle – things might work out in her favour. She wasn't expecting to have to face the drama and hardships that they would in the future, but presently, she was fine with developing a crush on one of her closest friends.

When she returned from Jason's funeral, she was thankful that her mother was working so that she could speak with her father about Polly in private without Alice's watchful eye and vindictive words. You see, Betty still believed that it was _Alice_ who controlled the household. She thought that it was her mother who forced Hal into silence and kept Polly's situation a complete secret, even to Betty. That simply wasn't true, it was Hal's harsh words and threatening promises that kept both him and his wife quiet.

"You  _dragged_  me out of the Blossom house and then you don't  _talk_  to me the whole way home?" Hal threw his arms out to the side as his daughter paced the floor.

"Dad, Jason and Polly were _engaged_." She hoped that her parents hadn't been hiding  _this_ from her too, but her better judgement told her otherwise. "Did you know that?" The aversion of her father's eyes gave her a positive answer to her question. "Oh my  _god_. Of  _course_  you did. Is that what you and Clifford Blossom were talking about?"

" _That_  is none of your business."

" _Yes_ , it is  _my_  business. So, stop avoiding it and just tell me what's going on!"

Hal took a deep breath through his clenched jaw and leaned against the kitchen table. "Clifford and I were arguing. Because he and his filthy clan came this close to destroying our family. Your little friend Cheryl's great-grandfather murdered yours, Betty."

" _Why_?"

"The same reason they do everything. Greed and hate." He sat down as Betty processed the newfound information.

Later, Betty would find herself alone in her bedroom, letting her father's words haunt her until she realized that there was no way she was getting to sleep that night. All she wanted to know was if her sister was safe, but her parents refused to tell her anything.

"She is  _sick!_ " Hal had said to her, slamming his palms down on the table. "And she's not coming home until she isn't sick anymore." His words were chilling and definitely laced with a hidden meaning. What did he mean by  _sick_  and why did her Polly's poor health seem to utterly disgust him so much? For weeks, Betty had been trying to piece together the mystery of Jason Blossom, when really, she should have realized that there is a mystery waiting to be solved right under her nose. Inside her house. Among her family.

She went to Jughead about this. After all, he was her safety. And he pulled through, when she couldn't even count on her own family. "Betty..." he started the next day after she told him about being one step closer to the truth about Polly, "...if your parents lied about Jason and Polly, there's probably more that they lied about."

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, though she knew his answer and agreed with it.

"Your dad said he would do anything to protect Polly." Jughead crossed his arms, "So, the next logical question is, how far would he go to protect her?"

"Jughead..." Betty's voice was shaking with the accusation that she was about to breathe. "Whoever broke into Sheriff Keller's house and stole all his evidence wasn't at the drive-in. My _dad_ wasn't at the drive-in."

And just like that, her parents had become suspects.

> _"And not a single day goes by where you don't cross my mind."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Cross My Mind" by A R I Z O N A.

**Author's Note:**

> Song: "History" by One Direction.


End file.
